Man Of Omerta
by AgoodWITCH
Summary: Silence. Honor. Humility. This was the world as I knew it. Isabella didn't change this for me, she made it clearer. She became a part of that oath as I spoke the words, because a man who couldn't protect his family, couldn't be trusted to protect the organization. "We settle things like men, amongst men, we don't run to cops like cowards."
1. Chapter 1

**Man of Omerta was my donation to the Babies at the Border Compilation and it is now free to post. The first three chapters were donated, but as I wasn't able to get as far along as I wanted to, I'm currently planning to post every two to three weeks. So after today's post, there will be a chapter right around St. Patrick's Day. I'm hoping to pick up some speed on this one and keep it up. My focus right now is this fic and The Collection, which I need to get back to. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy!**

**This fic was adopted from the plot bunny farm over on facebook, thanks Nichole for this idea. The premise was simple, but you know how I like to complicate things. Since my favorite gangster movie of all time is Goodfellas you'll see a few influences. I decided setting this in the past was easier for me not only from a plot standpoint, but because I love a period piece, no matter the time period, so welcome to the 60's. My beautiful banners for this fic are from HeartforTwilight, she's a great writer in her own right and volunteered to do these for me. And lastly, one half of the dream team, Mizzdee for taking the red pen to this one, and Sunshine1220 for signing on as my pre-reader, thanks ladies.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 1**

**Bensonhurst, New York, 1965**

From the time I was twelve, I'd been a part of this life. My father was Aro Volturi's consigliere, and from the days I used to stop by the bar on my way home from school, he'd seen the promise in me.

I was his godson, and as he'd lost his brother and two sons to this life with nothing and no one to blame but their own temper and stupidity, a decade after my start he was beginning to consider who would step in when he retired.

"My boy," Aro called from the back of the smoke-filled room, "come talk to your godfather."

I made my way to the table where he sat with my father and a few other high-ranking officers and he handed me an envelope. "Take care of this for me? You and Jasper leave tonight."

Nodding, I took the envelope and made my way out of the bar. There was no point in opening it in front of him. Checking what he was asking of me before I agreed was rude, and it wouldn't have mattered. I would have done it regardless. You don't disrespect your elders, especially the boss.

Making it to my car, I saw an address in Chicago and a name, Stefan Romano. I knew of him; he was a low-level crook who thought it was a good idea to skim from the top. This was his only warning. We'd be coming back to New York with the money owed to Aro, whether he paid it, or we took it after he was dealt with.

I drove to the house and walked in the front door, smiling at the smell of Esme's minestrone soup cooking. One of the perks of still living at home was getting a home-cooked meal every night. She could make a masterpiece out of nothing, but tonight I had other plans.

"Where're you off to?" she asked, gesturing to the suitcase that was waiting for me.

"Chicago," I told her.

"Take your heavy coat, you'll freeze your balls off out there."

"Yes, Ma," I called, taking the coat from the hall closet, I shrugged it on.

"Ay, where do you think you're going?" she hollered.

I stopped and walked to the kitchen and over to her where she was stirring dinner. I kissed her cheek and she patted mine, three quick taps her silent way of saying I love you.

My father married Esme when I was seven and Jasper was five. She'd been around before that but, out of respect for our mother, he'd waited a few years to make things official.

Esme was from the neighborhood. She grew up in this world and that meant she didn't take shit from too many people. Aro adored her, so she was one of the most respected women in Brooklyn.

I grabbed the bag Esme had packed for me on my way out the door. I picked up Jasper, it seemed he'd been given the same heads up.

The flight out was uneventful, aside from Jasper's usual gripes about his wife, Maria.

"Jas, we told you that marrying Maria Moretti would be a lifetime of ball-busting. But you had to be a man."

"She was knocked up, Ed. I wasn't about to let her dictate when I could see my kid. Besides, Aro would have been more upset if I hadn't married her."

"And now you've got a nag on your dick for the rest of your days," I said.

I hadn't met a woman in the neighborhood that interested me enough to settle down and after the disaster that was Jasper's marriage, my father wasn't pushing me towards any of the locals. Though Esme had hinted to Aro that I should go to Italy and find a good woman from the old country.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax for at least a portion of the flight.

We were picked up by Marcus, Aro's nephew and the underboss out here in Chicago.

"If you cap Stefan, make sure his mother can have an open casket," Marcus directed.

I was hoping to avoid that, but with a punk this dumb it was difficult to say. "We'll do our best."

When we got to his house in the predawn hours, we caught a few hours sleep and then changed and took off in one of Marcus's cars to finish this business. The address was easy to find and we weren't surprised to find it was an auto mechanic. As we pulled in, a few guys approached.

"Can we help you?" one of the grease monkeys asked.

"Yeah we're looking for Stefan? Marcus said he'd be able to help us."

"Stefan, you got visitors," the guy hollered.

Stefan jogged out, stopping short when he saw us.

"I'll see you later." The comment was shouted as he turned to the other mechanics before approaching the car and climbing in.

Jasper got in the back seat behind him and I pulled out of the lot for this joyride. "What does Aro need my help with?"

"He needs the money you owe him," I ground out.

"What? I'm not skimming." The octave his voice rose to told us otherwise.

"Last two trips you made moving those hot cars you said they all got stripped for parts. Imagine Marcus's surprise when his cousin got pinched for coke in the side panel of the car you sold him. You didn't even check the car before you sold it," I said.

"You're lucky his lawyer got him off since he'd only been the owner a few days, otherwise Marcus would be paying this visit himself," Jasper added.

"What can I do to make this right?" Stefan's voice wavered.

"Get us the money you owe Aro and deliver it to us at Famiglia by three. We have a flight to catch."

"Sure thing," he whispered.

I pulled up to the garage and he scampered out. Jasper didn't bother to get into the front seat with me, but I heard his protests when I headed back to Marcus's. "You said we were going to Famiglia?"

"At three. We flew out on the last flight yesterday and barely got any sleep this morning. I want to nap for a few hours. We'll get our money, grab a bite, and you can flirt with the one that got away."

"Fuck you, Edward," he spat.

"You're not my type," I retorted with a middle finger flashing in his direction.

After a few hours of sleep, we got cleaned up and drove to La Famiglia. Jasper and I were seated quickly and looked at the menu. Stefan walked in with an envelope and after a quick inspection, I gave him a curt nod and sent him on his way.

Our waitress walked up and I couldn't help but smile. "Alice, how are you?"

"I'm good, Edward. Jasper?"

"Perfect now, Darling."

"How's your wife?" Alice asked and I barked a laugh.

"Don't be like that. You'd be my wife if you hadn't broken my heart all those years ago."

"We were children, you couldn't really think I was going to go home with you from Italy. And then you met Maria and got her pregnant-." Alice hissed the word in an attempt not to be heard. Whatever she was going to say next was cut off by Jasper.

"And I married her to keep my son. You could always move to New York, I'd help set you up," Jasper offered.

"I'm not going to be your goomah. If you ever find a way out of the mess you've made of your life, I'd consider it, but not before."

"Good for you, Alice," I told her. Sometimes my brother was a bonehead.

"Let me take those from you." She snatched our menus. "I'll bring you both something special."

I almost choked on my wine twenty minutes later when Alice brought me a plate of chicken and eggplant parmigiana and then plopped a plate of spaghetti arrabbiata with two fist sized meatballs in front of my brother. "Enjoy."

"Don't say a word," Jasper said.

"I won't mention that Alice just served you your balls on a plate."

"Asshole."

We ate our meal and after a generous tip and a kiss to Alice's cheek, Jasper and I made our way to Marcus's to get ready for our flight.

A few hours later we were on the plane and I drifted off quickly. Jasper gave me a shove when we landed and we made our way through the terminal. I had to take a piss, so we took care of that before getting to baggage claim. We arrived just in time to see the carousel stop, our bags alone on the belt.

I reached for my suitcase, almost falling over from the weight of it. Jasper snickered but I lifted it and unclasped it to reveal more mementos than clothes. This was not my bag.

"Fuck," I growled. "Someone grabbed my bag."

I snatched a picture frame from the bag and closed it.

"What are we going to do?" Jasper asked.

"We're going to ask the cab stand if they recognize anyone in this picture and to tell us where they took them. Then we'll deal with them when we get there."

Even with this massively heavy bag, I reached the cab stand quickly and thrust the picture frame at the attendant. "Have you seen any of these people in the last twenty minutes?"

One look up at us and then the guy pointed to the pretty brunette in the middle. "Yeah, she caught a cab from here about fifteen minutes ago."

"Where was she headed?" Jasper asked, flashing the gun tucked into his waistband.

"Flushing Motel," he stuttered.

I pulled a couple of twenties from my wallet and handed them to him. "Pleasure doing business with you. And if anyone asks…"

"I don't know a damn thing."

We made our way to the parking lot and I drove to the motel the attendant had told us about. I pulled into the alley and right up to the side door.

"Don't move, I may be running when I get out of that room," I told Jasper before I opened the door.

I unlocked the trunk and took this girl's bag out, checking the ID tag. Isabella Cigno. I walked through the door and right up to the counter.

"I need a key to my girlfriend's room, Isabella Cigno?"

"She asked not to be disturbed," the clerk said without looking up.

I pulled a twenty from my wallet and slammed it on the counter. "I'm not disturbing her, now get me that key."

His eyes flashed up and he froze when he met my glare. It took a minute, and me unbuttoning my coat enough to reveal my gun, but he reached back and got the key for me. I left the bill on the counter and took the elevator to the fourth floor.

I made my way to room 408, pleased that it was right beside the side stairwell. I slid the key into the lock and turned the knob. My head was down, but my eyes scanned the room. There she was, asleep in the bed. I switched the bags, sitting mine beside the door. Only problem, I needed to know what, if anything, she found in the bag.

I approached the bed, pulling my gun out. I crouched beside the bed and covered her mouth just as the muzzle of my gun pressed to the back of her head.

"Wake up, Isabella," I murmured and she stiffened. "I don't want to hurt you, but I need to ask you a few questions. Now, I'm going to remove my hand, but I need you to be quiet. No screaming, okay?"

She nodded, trembling like a leaf. I moved my hand as promised and she started praying in Italian. My hand felt numb with the lack of contact and the sound of my mother tongue coming out of her mouth did things to me, but I couldn't think like that.

"Good girl. Now, you must have been in a hurry when you left the airport, because you took my bag by mistake. I've already taken mine back and left yours, but I need to know, did you open it?"

"No, my other bag has my clothes, so I didn't need to," she whispered.

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

"No. I'd like for us to survive tonight, and lying to the man holding a gun on me doesn't seem like the best way to do that."

"Us? Is someone else in here?" I asked, pissed I didn't consider it.

"I'm expecting," she said. Her hand drifted to her midsection, which I now saw was rounded slightly.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm going to walk out that door and I won't bother you again. Just don't tell anyone about tonight."

"There's no one to tell," she whispered.

"What about the father?" I asked, because I couldn't understand how a pregnant girl could have no one in her life.

"I just flew three thousand miles to escape him."

"Are you in danger?" My anger flared at the idea of someone hurting her, but considering she wasn't a blubbering mess at me pulling a gun on her, she couldn't have had the easiest life. That it got to me this much was the problem, she wasn't anyone for me to be concerned for.

"No, my grandfather will make a show of being concerned, but it wasn't like he loved me. Just an old man playing matchmaker and not being any good at it. I'm not worth the effort," she laughed humorlessly.

"Here, take this and if you ever need help, go here and ask for Edward Masen." I threw a wad of cash beside her on the bed, followed by a matchbook for Mezzano's.

"Why are you helping me?" she questioned.

"Because, I feel bad that our first meeting was this way. That the first time I heard you speak Italian was a frightened prayer. I was raised that women are supposed to be protected."

"The bag must have been pretty important."

"It is. I hope I'll see you again. Goodnight Principessa."

I took the side stairwell down and was glad to see Jasper still parked where I asked him to be.

"So, how did it go?" he asked once we started to pull away.

"She hadn't even touched the bag. No idea what she'd taken. I think she's in trouble, Jasper. She's expecting but she ran away from whatever her home life looked like."

I could feel Jasper's eyes on me. "That's the most you've said about any woman in a while. Should I tell Ma to start knitting booties?"

"Quit it. I gave her a matchbook and some money for her trouble. So, it is up to her if we see each other again."

"Mhmm."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope this chapter finds you all well, it has been a hectic day here, but things have finally calmed down. I'm dedicating this chapter to Fangirlin Granma Dee. She was a reviewer that many loved to hear from because she was a constant cheerleader. She reviewed both of my entries for the Picture is Worth 1000 Words contest, and I'm sad she won't get to see Wounded Hearts complete. But her passing brought something to the surface for me. As readers, we get excited when we see a chapter update or a new story from a favorite author, but I don't think many of you know that authors have the same reaction to seeing familiar names pop up in our inbox. Some of you review every chapter, some once in a while, others will wait until the end and leave an epic review at the end. They all mean the world to me! It reminds me of a line from one of my favorite songs, "Arianne." It is a list of things that evoke the feeling of loving someone completely, and one line, "And what writers have to feel like, when they suddenly discover they've been read." On a story like this where chapter one received 52 reviews, 143 faves, and 289 follows, it seemed this was the best place to share this love in remembrance of a woman who signed her reviews "Giant Granma Hugs and Smooches." Thank you for the love and support, for taking the time to choose my words to fill your days. It will never be taken for granted.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**AN: Not 100% sure about the state of I-80 at this time, but let's say there is some semblance of a series of paved roads for this drive, even if the drive takes them longer.**

**Chapter 2**

I wanted to just drop Jasper off at home, but I knew that if I didn't make an appearance, Maria would throw a fit for the next week about the trip. She enjoyed the perks of being Jasper's wife, but she wanted a husband that was home at five-thirty every night, and that wasn't our life. And it wasn't like she'd been naive getting into this. The Morettis used to be elbow deep in The Organization, but when Maria's grandfather snitched on Aro's father, Afton, who had been the boss at the time, they lost all of their standing.

Caius Volturi had almost destroyed everything in the aftermath of Afton's arrest and murder in prison. He wasn't even the head of our Organization, he was running the Cazo outfit after his father-in-law, Vincenzo Cazo's death. He killed Moretti, and then caught a bullet for a hit he'd done without permission on one of our rival's men and Aro stepped in and salvaged what his older brother had nearly ruined. Now, thirty years later, Caius's son, Marus, was running the family and things were going well.

Aro hadn't been happy when he heard that Jasper had knocked Maria up, but he'd sanctioned the marriage and told Jasper to keep his wife on a tight leash.

As soon as the door was open she was hollering, but the threat died on her tongue when she saw me step in behind him. "Edward, it's a little late for a social call."

"There's nothing social about this. Jasper has something for me in his office. I need to give it to Aro when I meet him tomorrow, so you can go on to bed and I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes."

Maria knew better than to argue with me, so she left without another word.

"She's getting worse," Jasper muttered as we headed to his office.

"Want me to put someone on her?" I asked.

"No, I'll handle this myself. Now, what did you need?"

"Nothing, but did you want her going on about us coming in at all hours?"

"Thanks, Edward."

I walked back out to my car and headed home. I opened the trunk and saw the picture frame I'd used to identify Isabella sitting next to my suitcase. Without thinking, I popped open my suitcase and stuffed it in, closing it and removing it from the trunk. Carrying my bag inside, I saw Esme asleep on the couch. I approached her, kissing her cheek. "Ma, go to bed."

"Did something go wrong? You should have been home earlier," she said as she yawned.

"Nah, just an accident on the way to Jasper's, and then I had to make an appearance so Maria wouldn't keep him up all night bitching about how late we got in."

"At least you're smart. Waiting on a nice girl who will understand this life. Marrying the granddaughter of a snitch is only causing that boy problems."

"Well, I offered to put a tail on her, but he wants to try and rein her in on his own."

"Go to bed, Edward, you're dead on your feet. Aro will expect to see you before noon."

"Night, Ma."

I climbed the stairs with my suitcase, happy to be back in my own bed. I changed and climbed under the covers, thinking about Isabella. Besides her trembling and the prayer, she'd shown no fear at the stranger in her motel room or the gun I'd pulled on her. It made me wonder if we had any connections to families out west. I didn't know where exactly that flight had come into Chicago from, but I had a few ways I could figure it out.

Though she never got a look at me, I'd seen not only the picture used to track her down, but her profile as I knelt beside the bed. She was beautiful, and though I'd played it off with my brother, I wanted her to use that matchbook. I wanted her to seek me out and I already had a plan working in my head for how to keep her safe. In the morning I would be making quite a few phone calls.

Three hard knocks on my bedroom door had me clutching my head. I looked at the time and saw that it was ten-thirty. My first stop after getting showered and dressed for my day was the local travel agent. I needed to know where my plane had come in from last night. It might not be a foolproof answer, but it gave me somewhere to start.

The bell rang above the door, causing Gianna to pop out of her seat. "Edward, how have you been? Was your trip good?"

Gianna booked almost all the travel for The Organization and she was great at keeping things secret and the itinerary never implicated us if something went sideways out of town.

"It was, but I have a question. Can you tell me where our plane came in from?"

"Sure, just give me a few minutes to do my magic and I'll have an answer."

I pulled the pack of cigarettes from my jacket pocket and lit up. I needed to know how I was going to approach this with Aro, because I had to be careful of how I brought her into the conversation.

"Edward, the plane came in from Seattle and was a direct flight to Chicago before you and Jasper boarded it there. Anything else I can do?"

"No. Thanks, G, you're the best."

So, if she got off when the plane landed and then reboarded with us, she was coming out of Seattle, so I needed to talk to Aro. I left her office and walked down the street, entering the bar just before noon.

"There you are, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show yourself today," Aro said, motioning to the office.

I followed him to the back and reached into my briefcase. Once he had the money in hand, he turned his stare on me. "Did Stefan get the message?"

"Loud and clear. I think the fact that he knows what happened to Marcus's cousin let's him know he was getting off easy."

Aro nodded. "Good, now, why did you pay Gianna a visit before me this morning?"

Shit. "Because her answer to my question affected what I want to discuss with you."

"Go on," he said.

"I met a woman last night. She was on our flight home and I felt a spark. But she's running from something and I wanted to know where the plane had departed from so I had more information."

Aro sat up. "What did Gianna say?"

"She may have come from Seattle," I told him.

"If it is just a bad relationship or a broken home, you need to be careful how you introduce her to our world. If she's aware of this lifestyle from Seattle, we may have a problem."

"Why would you say that?"

"The Carlucci family runs Seattle but they're not like us. Women are disposable to them. They make their money selling sex: selling women, and if they found out she had attached herself to another Organization, they might seek vengeance. Where did you leave it with her?"

"I think I frightened her, though she did a great job hiding it. I gave her a matchbook from here and told her that if she wanted to see me again, this is where she could find me."

"What did you do to frighten her?"

This would be a fine line to walk, I needed to be truthful, but not put Isabella in danger. "We had the same luggage and she almost managed to get away with mine. I was a little too forceful at first but was able to straighten everything out and left it on better terms."

"Good, I would hate to hear you'd gone all the way to Chicago for my money only to lose it at the airport. She might suspect something but since you're sure she never got the case open, she'll never know for sure. There is one question I have for you. Is she Italian?"

"Yes, and she speaks the language enough to pray in it," I admitted.

"Finally, you've found someone who's caught your eye. Colpo di fulmine, wonderful."

Colpo di fulmine. The Italian version of love at first sight. It definitely felt like I had been struck by lightning. Now I just needed to keep myself from returning to the Flushing Motel.

"I have one more favor to ask. Can I have the keys to one of the apartments?"

"Planning to play house already?" Aro joked.

"Not quite yet, but I was thinking of inviting Alice out to New York and if Isabella should come to see me and need a place to stay…"

"Always plotting. You get my great-niece out here and you can have your pick of apartments. But warn your brother so he isn't shocked to see her, and so he can make sure Maria doesn't have any weapons around."

"Will do, but first I have to get her to agree. I'm going to make a few phone calls."

Aro left me alone and I pulled out the matchbook I'd taken from Famiglia when we'd been there the other day. Dialing the number, Mrs. Brando answered. I explained that I was a friend of Alice's and needed to speak to her. She put the phone down to fetch Alice and a moment or two later, I heard her chipper voice.

"Jasper?"

"Wrong Masen brother," I chuckled.

"Edward, what a pleasant surprise. How can I help you?"

"I have a favor to ask, but if you help me with this, I'll make it worth the trouble."

"What do you need?"

"I have an acquaintance, a young woman who is starting over in New York, and I want to help her, but I don't think she would let me pay for her."

"So, you thought if you had a young woman who was a friend of the family and was living alone as well she'd be more willing to take the help?" Alice correctly guessed.

"Yes. And I want you to know, I didn't mention this to Jasper in case you turned me down. But if you say yes, I will warn him."

"This girl means a lot to you?" she asked.

"She could, but I don't want to spook her," I admitted.

"I'll do it, Edward, but I'm doing it for this girl, not just for you. It sounds like she needs a friend."

"That is fair. When should I have someone drive out with a truck for your belongings?"

"I can be ready by the weekend since most of my belongings are boxed up in my parents' basement. Will my place be ready by then?"

"It will be."

"Oh, and make sure there's a place for me to park my baby," she added.

"Of course. When should I expect you by?"

"Have the truck here on Saturday and we can leave Sunday morning. I should be in Queens by Wednesday or Thursday," Alice assured.

"Thank you, Alice."

She laughed into the receiver, "It is nice to see that one of the Masen boys has some manners."

"Jasper will never live that down, will he?"

"No, probably not. Warn him before I show up at a family dinner." It was said as a joke, but with Esme it would only be a matter of time before Aro's great-niece got an invitation to dinner.

"I will take care of everything. Goodbye, Alice."

"See you next week, Edward."

The line disconnected and I smiled. I was going to make this work. I left the office and Aro was sitting at a table in the back talking to some of the old timers. He tilted his head in a silent question and I nodded. Aro returned to the conversation around him with no further discussion.

I got into my car and drove to Jasper's house. His twenty-first birthday was tomorrow and I was sure he was going to love my present.

The screaming could be heard from outside, and when the curtain fluttered a minute before the door was opened by my nephew, I knew it was going to be a bad visit.

"Uncie Edwar, you here!" Peter cheered and I scooped him up.

I followed the noise into the kitchen where Maria was waving her arms around wildly. "You never let me do anything special for you. I don't understand why you're making such a big deal about this birthday party."

I set Peter down and whispered for him to go play in his room. As soon as he cleared the hallway I moved into the doorway of the kitchen.

"Because I didn't want a party! It is more about you trying to piss on my leg and act like we're happy than it is about me. I even told Ma I didn't want a party."

"Esme isn't your mother, she's just the whore who couldn't wait to warm your father's bed."

My gun was drawn and pointed at Maria before she even knew I was there. I was done putting up with the Moretti's, and I would be damned if I let her speak about Esme that way, even if she was a woman. "Never disrespect our mother again. You're nothing more than the granddaughter of a traitor."

"Edward, how did you get in here?" she asked, not fazed by the gun a few inches from her temple.

"Peter let me in. Now, if my brother doesn't want a party then make him a nice dinner at home tomorrow and let that be the end of it."

Maria turned to me and I saw the crazed and glassy look in her eyes. "Put the gun away, Edward. We both know you aren't going to shoot me in my kitchen."

I replaced the gun in my waistband and motioned to Jasper. "Outside, now!"

We got into my car and I turned to him. "What is she on?"

"On? She's been drinking since noon," he fired back.

"You're naive or a fucking idiot if you believe that. Talk to Aro, find out who we have in our pocket and divorce her and get my nephew away from her."

"Did Aro make you boss and no one thought to tell me?" Jasper spat.

"No, but I didn't get shot full of holes for you to fuck up your life like this. I came to tell you something important and I don't even know if I can trust you to protect Peter let alone help me with this."

"Edward?" Jasper looked truly shocked by my words.

"Get back in there and make sure she cancels that party."

Jasper climbed out of my car and I drove off. I didn't like feeling out of control, but at the moment that was exactly how I felt. Instead of going home, I drove a little further to the house I was working to fix up for myself. I didn't get to go there as often as I liked, but on days like today when I felt like I was spiraling out of control, I needed the distraction.

In the last three years I had gutted what was once a rundown house and redone everything. I'd used the crews from our construction connections to do the major stuff, but it felt good to do the minor and cosmetic work myself. The last thing I'd had a crew come in and do was finish the kitchen. There wasn't much to do beyond painting and finishing up some of the lighting fixtures.

Some of the guys gave me shit, but Aro said it was noble that I was taking the time to work on the house where I would raise my family some day. And now that I had met a woman I wanted to start that family with, I had a reason to finish it. Now I just needed her to come and find me.


	3. Chapter 3

**I've got the next two chapters with my beta, so we're caught up to the compilation. Currently I'm working on the next chapter of The Collection, since Wander No More is completing as soon as I post this. Hope you enjoy and I will see you in two weeks!**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 3**

I heard the garage door open two hours after I had started painting the living room. It was a good place to stop, since I had managed to get the first coat of paint done. I turned on the faucet in the kitchen just as my father walked in with a casserole dish and a shopping bag.

"I had a few conversations today that were quite interesting," my father said.

"How many of them had to do with me?"

"I brought some of your mother's ziti, how about we sit down to eat and we'll discuss it," he said and I nodded.

I set up the card table and two chairs while my father unloaded his bag. With the table set and the food Esme had sent with him still hot, we served ourselves and began to eat before he spoke again.

"Jasper stopped by the bar and told us that he's planning to divorce Maria. Aro told him to speak to his lawyer and he would handle everything. We'll make sure Peter stays where he belongs."

"We need to watch Maria, Jasper doesn't believe it, but she's on something," I told my father.

"Jasper mentioned you fought about how he's handling his family and his life. He was hurt by what you said."

"I shouldn't have said what I did, but there's a lot going on, most of which he doesn't even know. I think part of it was watching him try to sweet talk Alice when we were in Chicago. He said he loved her, but when she told him she couldn't marry him at sixteen, he fell into Maria's bed not that long after returning from Italy.

"I don't care if I was broken-hearted. If I loved someone, there is no way I could disregard her so easily. Especially for a Moretti. I hate that entire family, but no one more than Maria, because of the man she has turned my brother into. She's a liability and if she isn't handled she will be our downfall. Family is the most important thing in our world. It is why the other families respect us. They know we have honor. With Aro looking to name a successor that isn't his child since Jane isn't able to run the Organization, we have to make sure we show him that his belief in our family isn't misplaced."

My father leaned back, his eyes narrowing before he spoke. "Are some of the things that Jasper isn't aware of related to you bringing Alice to New York?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Aro said you almost lost his money, and the young woman you met because of it is what has you so short tempered."

"We came a lot closer than he knows," I muttered.

"Tell me," he demanded.

I told him the whole truth of our meeting. He was smiling by the end of it, his head shaking. "Aro mentioned that you were worried about her connection to Seattle. You will have to determine what danger it could cause when she comes to find you."

"Why are you so sure she will?" I asked, hopeful.

"Because, she had a gun pulled on her and didn't dissolve into hysterics, that means it isn't the first time she's faced a threat. We will protect her if that is your choice, but it might require a trip west. Only time will tell."

"You don't seem worried that some random woman could blow up our world."

"First, Aro despises how those animals do business out there, so if this girl is involved but not in too deep, he'll help her even if she isn't connected to you. He was supportive of my actions for the love of my life, I don't expect any less for the man he sees as his successor."

"How did he help with mom?" I asked.

"Not your mother, Esme." My father responded.

He took in my shocked expression and sighed.

"Esme was my first love, but her father wasn't a fan of our connections, so he refused to let us be together. I met your mother and we married within the year. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I loved Elizabeth, but it was comfortable, it lacked passion. She knew about Esme, but when I promised her that I would be faithful she believed me and I never broke that vow.

"We had you and we were happy. Esme had married and we lived separate lives until your mother got sick. The illness came on so quickly, the doctors couldn't do anything for her. The night she passed she was feverish and I sat with her, trying to calm her, but she took my hand and squeezed it with a strength she shouldn't have.

"I'll never know how she knew, but she looked at me and said Esme was in danger. They weren't friends, but she saw things she could never confirm, but she suspected."

My father looked down tears falling from his eyes like it was yesterday. "Esme came to pay her respects and I caught sight of a bruise on her forearm. I put one of our guys on her and he called twelve hours later saying Esme was in the hospital because her husband found out she'd gone to your mother's funeral. She lost the child she'd been carrying and he was dead before she was released from the hospital. Burglary gone wrong."

"And then you two took it slow? I remembered her coming around for a long time before anything came of it."

"Out of respect for your mother, and so Esme had time to heal. Her father was gone and her mother didn't say a word, so when we were ready we sought out Aro and he told us to be happy."

"And you think we'll receive the same blessing?" I asked.

"He's giving you keys to one of his properties to put Alice up so she has a place to stay based on a wish of yours. But if this woman comes to you, you need to make sure she knows what she is getting into without spelling it out. She'll know more if you ever get married, but she can't enter this blind and then want out."

"I understand, Sir."

"Good, now are we heading home together or are you sleeping here tonight?"

"I'm staying here. It is so close to being done, no point in putting it off," I told him.

"You were always hands on with things. Jasper let the crew do everything in that monstrosity Maria designed."

"Yeah, well I think it is time I actually live here, instead of mooching off you and Ma."

"And it is closer to a few of the properties Aro was suggesting. Alice will be here Thursday?"

"Yes, I have a truck and a few of our guys leaving tomorrow." It was the first thing I had arranged after Aro agreed to help.

"Well, I'll leave this with you, so you have something in your refrigerator and I will see you soon."

"Night, Dad."

"Edward," he said with a nod as I walked him out.

I cleaned up my supplies and went up into the one bedroom I had set up. There wasn't much here, just a bedroom set I had picked out when I'd first began to work on this house. Stripping down to my boxers and undershirt, I climbed into bed and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning I was thinking about where to go for breakfast when there was a knock on my door. I answered, glad to see Jasper was here.

"Happy birthday, Jas."

"Thanks, Ed. You want to grab a bite?"

"Sure, my treat," I told him.

"Let me get it, I'm gonna need your help today. I'm moving out of the house." Jasper said.

"Is that smart?" I asked.

"The house is in her name, so there's no point in fighting for it. She dropped Peter off with Ma and said something about spending the day at the salon. I spoke to our lawyer last night and apparently dad had him draw up the papers a while back in case Maria became a problem. He just went in and added a notation about me wanting custody of Peter, but she should be served by tonight and I want to be out of there."

"Smart. We'll grab some breakfast and then get you out of there."

And that was exactly what we did. Jasper had a bunch of boxes in the garage so, for the most part, we were just emptying his closet and the bathroom. Esme happily set him up in what was once his bedroom and when we'd successfully avoided Maria during the move, I watched as Jasper explained to Peter that he would be staying with Nono and Nona but they'd see each other all the time. Peter hugged his father and I went up to my room to pack up my own closet.

"You finally moving into your house?"

"Yeah, I'm doing it slowly, but may as well start, it's almost done. Though I'm not adding any personal touches yet."

"Because you may have the help of a pretty brunette?" Jasper said.

"About that. I fudged the truth with Aro, he thinks we stopped her before she left the airport, so don't let anything slip. I'm also hoping that a certain friend will be able to help me make her feel comfortable until she gets to know me better."

I waited for him to take the bait and it wasn't long. "What friend?"

"Alice."

"You're shipping her off to Chicago?" Jasper sounded shocked.

"No, Alice is moving into one of the apartments Aro owns. She'll be here on Thursday. I'm setting her up close to my place and when she's no longer needed to help with Isabella I thought I could help her set herself up."

"Pick one of the apartments that is over a retail space, she's always wanted to run a cafe."

"Done. Now, I'm headed back to my place after a stop by the grocery store. There is nothing in my fridge but Ma's ziti."

"Okay, Edward, I'll let you know what happens when Maria is served."

I laughed. "I'm pretty sure people in Jersey will know what happens when she gets the papers."

I made it as far as the kitchen when my Esme stopped me. "I can't believe you're leaving me."

"Ma, it's a seven minute drive. Ten if I hit traffic. And you know I'll be over for Sunday dinner and if you need anything, I'm a phone call away."

"I know. And I stocked up your kitchen, your father said there wasn't any food in there. I even got your favorite whiskey and some wine. Now, we need to talk about furniture and -"

"Ma, I love you, and thanks for the food and the booze but I can handle the furniture on my own."

"With the help of a young woman you're hoping will walk into the bar and back into your life?" she asked.

"My old man gossips like a woman. But yes. I'm going to get a couch and a television, but beyond that I'm hoping to have some input."

Sure enough, I made it to the house and the kitchen was fully stocked. I unpacked my clothes into the closet when I was disturbed by a knock on the door. I walked downstairs, knowing this was going to be trouble by the way they were knocking. No respect.

I almost expected to see Maria, so when Lucio Moretti was the one on my doorstep my hackles rose.

"Can I help you?" I asked him.

"I know you're behind this. You never liked my little girl because she wasn't interested in you. So now you've convinced Jasper to turn his back on his family."

"First of all, I wouldn't have touched your daughter with a stolen dick. Jasper was blinded by lust and wanting to raise his son, which he will still do since your daughter is a danger to my nephew. She's so deep in the coke that I don't even think she knows her own name most days. So, what you're going to do is go home and tell your daughter to be happy he's willing to let her keep that house and a nice settlement and sign the papers. Because if she doesn't it will be bad for all of you. And if you _ever_ come to my door and speak to me like this again, I'll make sure they never find the pieces. Your family is a disgrace and my family and our Organization are done with you. Capisce?"

His face paled and he nodded, looking defeated.

Jasper called with his own run-in with his wife, so I told him about his father-in-law. He barked out a humorless laugh and I told him to steer clear of Alice for a while when she arrived.

Now that the difficult business was handled, my days were filled with all sorts of prep. One of our usual guys at Idlewild told me about a shipment that was coming in that we might want to nick. So I sent a few of our guys to intercept it when they were loading it onto the transport truck. The box truck was loaded, but unfortunately it wasn't the driver's truck. We filled his with cement bags so he didn't notice the weight was off.

We would make a pretty penny off that switch and I was busy that evening showing Alice her new apartment, so it could never be pinned on me.

"This is wonderful, Edward, thank you. Though it is sad the retail space below isn't being used." Alice said as the men carried her belongings into the three-bedroom apartment. I told her to use the last bedroom for storage, as I'd furnished one of the bedrooms for Isabella.

"I hope it won't be vacant for long. I'm hoping to have a little cafe open down there," I said offering up some bait.

"Really? Who is running the business?" she asked.

"She's been a friend of the family for years. At one point I thought she might join my family, but my brother is an idiot."

"Edward Masen," she said with a gasp. "How did you know?"

"The soon-to-be divorced idiot told me," I answered.

Alice blanched. "Please tell me he didn't do that because I was moving here."

"Relax, Alice. Those plans were in motion before he knew you were coming. He's worried about Peter and, considering Maria's behavior lately, I'm worried too."

"Okay, as long as he doesn't think he's jumping out of her bed and into mine," Alice remarked.

"No, I told him to steer clear of you in the beginning and I think he knows it's for the best."

Alice finished poking her head into the various rooms shaking her head. "I can't believe you put so much work into this place. The paint and the furnishings, it was really sweet."

"Well, the paint was left over from my house. I finally finished the last few rooms. It's in need of a lot of work, but I can be patient until the right woman comes along to give me her input."

"Have you heard from her?"

"No, and that makes me nervous. But I'm afraid if I have someone tail her it will scare her off."

"Probably will. I get how you're feeling, but just try and be patient. In the meantime, you can help me plan my cafe." Alice giggled.

"Nope, I'll give you the number of the guys we used to renovate the bar last year and you work it out with them. Anything you want, within reason, go for it."

I handed her the keys and smiled, one step closer to being ready should Isabella come and find me.


	4. Chapter 4

**One more banked chapter, and I'm working on getting Chapter 6 started soon. So the next chapter will post as scheduled in 2 weeks and I hope to build up a few more of these. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 4**

We shouldn't have been surprised, since people talk, but within a few days of Alice being in New York, Maria knew.

Alice wanted to pick up some additional things for the apartment and convinced me that I couldn't live as sparsely as I was planning to. So with that, she and I spent one morning running to whatever stores she said were essential. I quickly learned that we had different ideas of the meaning of that word.

Maria and her mother Nettie were shopping like she hadn't been served divorce papers a week ago, but the moment she saw Alice, her eyes blazed.

"Don't start a scene, Maria. It will only hurt you," I said as I stepped in between her and Alice.

The pair stormed out of the store, and I knew it would be a problem when Jasper dropped Peter off. I went to the store owner and asked to use his phone.

"Jasper, Maria just ran into me and Alice, so be prepared."

I heard his groan through the receiver. "Thanks for the heads up. Peter is staying overnight, but I doubt she'll wait until tomorrow. Thank God he's only three so he doesn't understand too much of this. She's told her lawyer to refuse everything we suggest to resolve this divorce quickly and quietly."

"We'll get it done, don't worry."

Hanging up the phone, Alice and I called it a day. On the way home, I made a point to drive past Maria's house and when a few of the neighbors were sitting around on the porch across the street, I stopped the car. "Wait here."

I approached the women, all of them smiling up at me, but it was Mrs. Copelli who spoke. "Is that your girlfriend, Edward?"

"No, just a friend of the family who moved from Chicago recently. I promised her mother that I would help her out. Now, I have a favor to ask you all."

"Sure, Edward, how can we help you?" Mrs. Copelli asked.

"I'm worried about Peter. With Jasper moving out…"

"Maria has been all over the place. Male visitors when the boy is home, and none of them are good people. I wouldn't let them in my house. Mrs. Copelli shook her head.

"If you see anything concerning, or any neglect of Peter-"

"We'll call the bar." The women all agreed.

"Thank you." I nodded and then returned to my car, starting it up.

"You know, as scary as you can be when provoked, you're also a very thoughtful and considerate man. And it is clear you love your family."

Alice's comment had me turning to her. "What, because I'm the de facto heir to the Volturi family and the Organization even though I'm only Aro's godson, I shouldn't have a heart?"

"No, but my father is Marcus's consigliere and he is … maybe cold is the right word. There isn't a lot of affection. Maybe because I was born a girl so I'm of no use to him. But I've known what they do for a long while. I think his one hope was that I would marry someone involved in this life, preferably in the Cazo Organization. He is proud of being a Volturi, so me helping out the future of the Volturi Organization is as good as me marrying within the Cazo Organization."

"Aro is more demonstrative. His father was killed in prison during the last big war between the families out here in New York and when Aro took over, he told his men to protect their families and not to go and look for a fight. He knew Caius had crossed a line with a hit he carried out so Aro refused to bring that to our Organization. He contacted the other bosses and told them he knew why Caius had to pay and he wanted to establish some peace. His refusal to continue the war was what allowed us to survive. Now we're respected for how we strike forcefully, but only when necessary. Caius's consigliere did the same thing, made amends and kept trying to keep the family together until Marcus came of age. That was why Aro reached out to his nephew when he took over."

"And you want to continue that?"

"Yeah, we steal and offer protection. We don't run games or deal drugs. That is for some of the bigger outfits. Sometimes we run guns, but only if it falls into our laps."

"For that reason alone, I'm going to like New York more than I did Chicago. You won't look at me like a liability, the fact that you trust me with this young woman you see a possible future with means I have value."

"It is nice to not have to be guarded all the time. You grew up in it. If I try and lie you'll see through it. That doesn't mean you'll know what is going on most of the time, but I won't lie to you either. I'll just say it's nothing."

"And I can respect that, I don't want all of the details," Alice said.

I pulled up to Alice's apartment and she got out, walking into what would be her cafe where the crew was finalizing their plans.

That afternoon I returned home and from that conversation with Alice, time seemed to speed by.

In what felt like no time at all, it was two weeks since Alice arrived and still no word from Isabella. I was beginning to think she would never come looking for me.

One morning I was sitting at a table in the back of the bar when Aro walked in, his daughter Jane hot on his heels.

"Enough Jane," he ordered.

"I cannot believe that you're shipping me off," Jane argued back.

"I've let this go on long enough, you're twenty-nine and not even dating someone. You are going to Italy to find a good young man and that is the end of it."

Jane glared at her father before shifting her gaze to me. "You're enjoying this, aren't you Edward?"

"It makes no difference to me, but I have always loved my time in Italy. I hope you do too."

With a huff she stormed out and Marco approached the table. "Sorry for interrupting Boss, but there's a call for Edward. Mrs. Copelli?"

I shot out of my seat. She'd called a few times to inform me of the comings and goings, but I had just spoken to her yesterday, so it was too soon for another report.

Following Marco to the bar, I answered the phone. "Mezzano's, this is Edward."

"Edward, thank God you're there. Peter is with me. He climbed through a gap in the fence after that Puttana locked him out of the house without his coat."

I looked outside and saw the snow falling. "Shit. I will be right there. Thank you, Shelly."

I ran back over to the table, snatching up my coat. "What's wrong?"

"Maria locked Peter outside, Mrs. Copelli let him in when she realized and called me."

"Bring the boy back here. I want to see that he's okay with my own eyes," Aro said.

Nodding, I swung by my parents' house and grabbed one of Peter's coats before I pulled up to the house. I knocked on the door, but when there was no answer I started looking in the windows. That was when I saw it. Maria was laid out on the living room floor, her body in an awkward position.

Running over to Mrs. Copelli's, she had the door open waiting to let me in. "How bad?"

"Call the cops. Tell them about Peter getting locked out but you know his mother is home and you're concerned."

"And Jasper?" she asked.

"He's up in Boston, has been for the last two days."

Mrs. Copelli did as I asked and we were soon dealing with the cops.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Masen?"

"My sister-in-law's neighbor called our family bar when she saw Peter outside without his coat. He said he couldn't get back inside."

"And why wasn't your brother the one to come over?"

"He's in Boston. Has been since Saturday."

"Did you enter the house?"

"No, I had stopped at my father's to get him a coat since I'd been told he didn't have one. I knocked and she didn't answer so I came over here. That was when Mrs. Copelli told me she'd called New York's Finest."

Another officer approached at that moment."Mrs. Masen is dead, apparent drug overdose. The coroner is on his way."

"Since I wasn't the person to call it in, can I take my nephew away from here before all of that happens?"

"Fine, if we have any questions-?"

"I'll give you my home phone number," I told him.

Once they had what they wanted, I picked up Peter and buckled him into the front passenger seat and then we drove to the bar. Peter was out like a light so I lifted him out of the car and locked it up.

As soon as I walked into the bar, my father was on us. "How's my little man?"

"He's confused, thankfully he fell asleep on the drive. She's dead, cop said it was probably drugs."

"We'll need to make sure the bar is squeaky clean until this blows over," my father mused.

"I didn't want to involve them, but -"

"No, good thing you did. It will shut down her parents and they won't find what isn't there. I need to call Jasper tonight so he knows what is going on."

I nodded and looked around for Aro since he wanted to see Peter.

"Where's Aro?"

"He's at the Sugar Bowl. A young woman turned up here asking for you, so he took her to get something to eat. Looked like she could use it." My ears perked up at that.

"All right. Should I still bring Peter?"

"Yeah, he fell asleep with you, and he's had enough confusion. Plus you know he's going to want some fries when he wakes up," my dad said.

I thought about my options, but decided to just walk the three blocks to the diner Aro had gone to. Peter was just waking up when we walked in and his eyes lit up.

"Can I get pie?"

"If you eat something for lunch first. Do you want a burger or chicken?"

"Chicken!" He declared and I laughed.

The waitress saw me and waved me over, so I followed her to the booth Aro would be seated at. He liked sitting in the back corner away from the kitchen, that way no one could sneak up on him. As we drew close, Aro threw his arms in the air and Peter wiggled in my grip. I lowered him to the ground.

"There you are, Edward. And you brought Peter with you, how wonderful."

I saw Isabella turn in her seat and the slightly shocked look on her face when our eyes met. Aro had already scooped up Peter and sat him on the inside of his side of the booth, so I gestured to Isabella's bench and she slid in to make room for me.

"I hope you don't mind, Edward, when Isabella came to the bar asking for you, I didn't know how long you would be. So I thought I would take her to lunch until you returned."

"Mama's dead," Peter announced quietly.

I felt Isabella go stiff beside me and at Aro's questioning glare, I nodded.

"Looks to be a drug overdose, according to the cops. Dad is trying to get ahold of Jasper in Boston, but he might not reach him until tonight."

"I'm so sorry Peter," Isabella said.

Peter nodded sadly before the waitress returned. We ordered for Peter and I and soon we were all eating. Nothing was discussed, just polite conversation. When the meal was done, Aro turned to Peter with a smile.

"What do you say, Peter, should we pick out a pie for dessert for you and Nonno and Nonna tonight?"

"Yay, pie." His eyes met mine and they lit up. "You too?"

"No, Peter, I have to work. But you're going to stay with Nono and Nona until your dad gets home."

Aro stood and Peter ran around to my side of the booth. I gave him a big hug and then watched as the pair walked over to the pie case next to the register.

"Your nephew is adorable," Isabella said.

"He is. Doesn't deserve what is happening to him, but he'll be okay. We'll make sure of it." I looked at her before I turned in the booth to face her. "I was beginning to think you were never going to contact me."

"I'm sorry, but I had a lot to think about. But you told me that I should come to you if I needed help, and I think I do." She looked down at her hands, so I reached over and took one of them.

"My car is back at the bar. How about we walk back there and we can go for a drive?"

"Sure, I think it would be a good idea to talk in private," she said.

We left the booth and as we reached the front of the diner Isabella moved towards the register. "What's wrong? Did you want to get dessert too?"

"No, Edward, we have to pay."

"Aro got the check, trust me, we're good."

She nodded and then we walked out the front door. We were partway down the block when she turned to face me slightly.

"I don't even know where to start," she muttered.

"Why don't you let me start? I want to apologize for scaring you the way I did that night. I've been hoping you would come to find me just so I could tell you that I wish I had done it differently."

"It's okay. That bag was obviously important, and you didn't really hurt me. Believe me, I've had worse."

"Now, you know you can't say something like that to me and not be asked to explain," I told her.

"When …" She stopped her sentence, taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly before she turned to look at me. "When I was young, I lived in a small town on the coast of Washington state. My mom and my grandfather didn't talk, so I had seen him a handful of times in my life until I turned fourteen. My parents were killed in a car accident and I had to move in with him.

"He sold my family home and took that money and put it aside along with any insurance money because he didn't want to spend a dime of his money on me.

"When I got older, I started noticing that these young wise guys from the neighborhood would always be around. I think he was trying to set me up with one of them, but I wasn't interested. This one guy was always around, but no one ever introduced him so I had to ask myself. Apparently his sin was not being Italian."

"Was your grandfather involved in that business?" I had to ask.

"No, but since he had a full-blooded Italian girl to offer up, I think he believed that would make him an honorary member. But when Jimmy and I began dating he was irate. Threw me out, so I just moved in with Jimmy. That was a fucking mistake, and not just for the scandal that it caused with his neighbors."

By this point we'd reached my car so I helped her inside and then jogged around to my side. "I'm not sure I'm going to like this next part."

"Probably not. I saw a lot more of the business side of Jimmy. By this point I knew he was _in _the business so I saw things. When he found out I was in the family way I was already three months along. He went right to his boss and told him that his woman was Italian and that I was pregnant. He came home that night pissed because knocking up an Italian woman doesn't make you Italian. His dream of being made was blown to pieces."

"So, he was trying to use you as leverage too?"

"Yeah," Isabella said.

"So how did you get away?"

"He went on a job so I packed everything that was important into two suitcases, withdrew all of my money from the bank, and booked my flight."

"Are you still at the motel?"

"Yes, but I need to get out of there."

That, combined with how she said she needed my help worried me. "I have a friend you can stay with. But I need to ask, do you think you're in danger?"

"It all depends on how pissed Jimmy is. He found me."

"You've seen him?"

"I just thought it was him at first, but then the desk clerk made a comment about me having plenty of boyfriends…"

"Okay, change of plans. We're going to the motel and getting your stuff now."

"Shouldn't we talk more first?" Isabella asked.

"No, because I got into your room with a $20 bill and a flash of my gun. I don't want him to have a chance to get in there and surprise you."

"Okay," she whispered.

"What's Jimmy's last name?" I asked, my hands gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.

"Bricker, but his nickname is 'The Bloodhound' because he can sniff out anything. I don't know why I thought I could escape him."

"Hey, I'm going to take care of everything. You just work on taking care of that little one," I said, reaching across the console and taking her hand.

"I don't want you to get hurt because of this-"

"Isabella, don't worry about me. Considering what you've told me about your past, I'm guessing that you've figured out that I work for Aro's _family business._ But I can promise you two things right now. First, women aren't property or bargaining chips for us, we respect the women in our lives. Second, as long as you are loyal to me, I will protect you in any and every way I can."

"Edward," she said, her eyes pleading, "I don't want you to take a bullet for me."

"It wouldn't be the first time I took a bullet for someone else." At her glassy eyes and questioning expression, I shook my head. "I'll tell you that story another time. Now, let's worry about getting your things. I want you out of that motel and staying with Alice."

"Who is Alice?" Isabella asked.

"Aro's great niece. She moved from Chicago recently and I may have mentioned that I knew someone who would need a place to stay."

"Confident?"

"Hopeful. And now that I know Jimmy is sniffing around it is even more important."

The rest of our drive was relatively quiet, but when we pulled up to the side door of the motel, Isabella grew nervous.

"What if he's in there?"

"Then I will handle it. Give me your key."

She did as I asked and we entered the building, making our way to the fourth floor. When we were outside her door, I took my gun out of my waistband and slid the key into the lock. I pushed open the door and made my way inside. It didn't take long to see the room was empty, so I called for Isabella.

She quickly moved around, packing the last of her things and then we locked up and made our way to the stairs. I put my gun away as Jimmy hadn't been around so far and carried Isabella's bags so she could walk carefully down the stairs.

We were soon back out at my car and I loaded her things into the trunk before we went in the front entrance to check her out. Isabella seemed annoyed when I settled the bill, but she said nothing until we got in the car.

"I told you that I have money, Edward. Speaking of which." Isabella reached into her purse and pulled out the wad of cash I had thrown to her that fateful night.

"Keep it, for the baby," I said.

We drove back to Bensonhurst, and when we got to the neighborhood, I headed straight for Alice's apartment.

"So, are you coming in?" Isabella asked when I put the car in park.

"I'll come up to carry your bags and introduce you to Alice, but after that I need to go meet with Aro and my father about Jimmy. He's part of another Organization, even if he isn't a made man. So he has to decide how we're going to handle that."

"Be careful."

"We will, now, enough stalling. It's time to get you into your new home."

I exited the car and got her belongings out of the trunk. Once we reached the side of the building I fished the keys out of my pocket and handed them to her. I told her which key opened the outside door and then we climbed the stairs to the apartment. Bella knocked, and the door opened not long after, Alice's smiling face coming into view.

"Edward, hi. Is this Isabella?"

"Hi, Alice," Isabella said with a wave.

"Come in, and I'll show you around."

"Alice, I'm going to put these in Isabella's room and then I have to head out. But I will check in with you both tomorrow."

Alice looked at me, nodding at my decision. "See you then."

I placed the bags just inside the bedroom door and as I was turning to leave, Isabella was standing behind me. "Thank you, Edward, for everything. I hope in the end I'm worth the trouble."

I reached out to take her hand, bringing it to my lips so I could kiss it. "You already are."

**Puttana - whore **

**Nonno/Nonna - Grandpa/Grandma **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**There seems to be quite a few of you in the reviews who are pissed at Jasper for how he acted when he first met Alice and the aftermath of that. You'll learn the full story in the next chapter, but they were both young and he realizes now that he's made mistakes, but it doesn't mean he doesn't still look at her like the one he should have waited for. She isn't going to fall back in his arms and he isn't looking for someone to play mommy to Peter. This is going to be a slow burn for them. Which is what it needs to be. Jasper still has a lot of growing up to do. Chapter 6 is almost on its way to my prereader, so it is on schedule to post right now, beyond that I'm still working on the next section but I don't see a delay coming as long as I can keep the words going. The problem is, Mobward isn't always that chatty. Hoping Isabella can help with that!**

**Chapter 5**

I sat across the desk from Aro waiting for him to respond to Isabella's story. My father was beside me, his knee bouncing.

"She's a lovely girl, Edward. But she's with child and already halfway through her term from what you say. If we do this, and it goes sideways, she and the child will be at risk."

"I'll keep them safe. She's important to me, I can't describe it."

"Colpo di fulmine," Aro said.

"Call it that if it helps you to make a decision."

"Would you raise the child with her? A boy would need to know that he's not your blood."

"I would. This isn't a decision I'm making lightly. But Isabella will have a choice, too. I will not be like those heathens in Seattle. I'll offer her protection so she can start over and let her choose if she wants to include me in that life. She deserves that much."

Aro leaned back in the chair, looking at me. "Let me call Marcus, and he and I will travel to Seattle together. If two bosses go out there to meet with Carlucci, he may understand that standing by a soldier could prove dangerous."

"Thank you, Aro."

"Don't thank me yet. Keep her safe, but don't move against Jimmy until you get word from me. Unless he comes after you. You, not her. Then put him away."

"Yes sir."

I exited the office to allow him and my father to make their preparations. I got into my car and drove to my house. I made myself a quick dinner, planning my next move. So far Jimmy hadn't done anything to draw attention to himself here, but Bella had seen him. Part of me wondered if it was really him or if Bella's fear of him had her imagining him. I wasn't willing to risk it.

My night should have been quiet, but Jasper called me in an uproar. "The Moretti's are testing my last nerve."

"What did they do this time?"

"They're trying to sue me for custody. Dad went to visit Lucio and tell him that making threats against the family would end badly for them, but I'm not sure they listened. If Aro had paid the visit, it would be settled."

"You can't expect Aro to clean up all of your messes."

"But he can threaten another boss to clean up yours?" Jasper spat.

"Choose your words carefully, Jas. This is about protecting a woman who is being threatened. Aro understands that this punk could cause more problems than harassing Isabella."

"Fine, it was a cheap shot. I'm just ready to be done with the Moretti's and I'm taking that out on you. Gianna already has Aro on his way to Chicago. A few days and your problems will all be handled."

"You act like they would actually win. Even without Aro getting one of his judges to preside over the case, they don't take children away from their parents to give them to grandparents who barely bothered before. Moretti is grasping because any chance he had at redemption through his daughter is gone."

"Okay. I'll avoid them. Are you going to see Isabella while Aro is gone, or are you waiting for an answer to the problem?"

"I'm trying not to crowd her, but I'll go by tomorrow afternoon to see how Alice's cafe is coming along."

We ended the call and I settled in for bed. It didn't take long for sleep to take me, especially with the promise of seeing Isabella the next day.

My morning had me overseeing a few things at the bar so my father could take care of something for Aro, but by noon I was on my way over to Alice's. The crew I'd hired were working hard inside, getting the place ready for her, so I took the stairs two at a time to hear about her plans for the cafe once it was ready.

The sound of me bounding up the stairs must have caught Alice's attention, because she had the door open before I reached her landing.

"Do you always open the door before you know who's coming?" I asked.

"The window's open, so I heard you greet the crew. The glass to replace the cracked storefront window should be here this afternoon, so that's the big project for them once it comes in."

"Glad to see you're on top of things. Any other plans I should know about?"

"Nothing big right now. Isabella is helping me with recipes and the menu."

"Isabella? Does she bake?"

"Oh my, does she. And her pasta, better than even La Famiglia's. She loves the kitchen. You'll be very well fed when this all works out."

"Has she talked about me?"

"She's asked how long I've known you all. She was interested in why you were still single."

"And you told her what?"

"That you don't trust easily, and you've seen what a quick decision with the wrong person can do. A part of me still loves your brother, but he jumped into that relationship with Maria when he got back from Italy. He's impulsive, but you're calculating. You think four steps down the line."

"I have to. I'm going to be in charge one day. And if he's-"

My words were cut off by a scream. "Help!"

The commotion downstairs had me flying to the door before Alice could look out the window. I burst through the door downstairs to see one of the construction workers pulling Isabella behind him. I jumped through the missing window and flanked him, facing Isabella. "What happened?"

"It's Jimmy, he was following me."

"You saw him? It was him, for sure?"

"Yes. He's got a scar on his left cheek, and I swear I saw him when he drove past me as I made this turn. All the guys out on the sidewalk must have scared him off."

I wrapped an arm around her. "Okay, let's get you upstairs and then we'll figure everything out."

Alice had the door open when I got Isabella to the stairs, and soon we had her settled on the couch. "Alice, we're going to put your car in one of our garages and get you a loaner. He's seen what you drive and I don't want either one of you to get hurt. What did the car look like, Isabella?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It was a sedan, not as big as yours, though. It was dark blue."

"All right, we'll keep an eye out for something like that while we're out. Now, what I need is for you to stay calm. We can't have you upsetting yourself and making yourself sick. You have the baby to think about."

Alice stood, making eye contact with me. "I'll call Jasper and tell him what happened so he can move my Camaro."

"Thanks, Alice." I reached over to take Isabella's hand. "We'll keep you safe until Aro comes back."

"Where's Aro?"

"He went to Seattle. I told him your story and he's speaking to Jimmy's boss. He isn't a made man, so if he makes a wrong move out here, we can ice him. But the last thing we want is for Seattle to come here and cause trouble."

"I don't understand why all of you are putting so much on the line for me. I'm no one."

"Hey," I said, reaching up to lift her chin. "Do you feel that buzz? I've felt it since the first time I reached out to touch you in that motel room. I hate that our first encounter was like that. That you felt the press of my gun's barrel against your skin in greeting instead of my lips brushing your knuckles. That the first words you spoke in Italian in my presence was the Hail Mary."

"You've made up for that first meeting. No one has ever looked out for me like you have. Not since my parents died."

"I want the chance to do a lot more than this, but it will wait until we're done dealing with Jimmy. I won't have you making lifetime decisions under duress. We will handle him, and then you'll be free to choose whatever you want. So just relax, and everything will be fine."

I kissed her forehead and walked over to where Alice was standing in the kitchen with her hand extended. "Here are the keys. Bella handed them to me when we settled her on the couch."

"I'll be back with the keys for your temporary ride. Keep an eye on her," I told Alice.

I ran down the stairs and watched as my brother pulled into the back parking lot. He got out and walked to me. "Do you have the keys?"

I nodded, exchanging keys with him. "Here they are. Watch out, I don't know if this bastard is still circling around waiting for another go at Isabella."

"We'll keep her safe, Edward, I promise."

Nodding at my brother, I went to the stairs and found Alice waiting at the bottom of them. I gave her the keys to her temporary ride and turned to walk away.

"You're a good man. Aro chose well with you as his successor."

I turned back and met her eyes. "Take care of her, and I'll be around tonight."

"Want me to hold dinner for you?"

"No, I meant that I'll be around. Jimmy knows where you live. I can't move yet, but if he approaches that door, he's threatening you, and Aro won't have a problem with me doing what needs to be done."

"Be safe, Edward."

I got into my car and drove to the bar, knowing my father would be there.

One look at my face and he was walking back towards the office. "What happened?"

"Jimmy followed Isabella back to the apartment. He knows Alice's car, so we switched it out for her. But until we get word from Aro, I'm not leaving them unguarded."

My father's face turned hard. "You aren't camping out over there the whole time. Do it in shifts."

"Yes, Sir."

"Who are you putting on this?"

"I was thinking of Sammy and Jared."

"Good, get them brought up to speed and then get some sleep."

I went in search of the two men I was going to be putting on the job with me. They were older than I was, just coming up in the organization when I was young, but they were two of the best. If you gave them a job, they were on it. And that's what Alice and Isabella needed right now.

It wasn't long before Sammy was on his way, aware that I would be relieving him tonight. Jared would be coming by the following morning to give me a chance to sleep, and then I'd be back again.

I drove to my place and closed the curtains, blocking out as much of the sun as I could. It took a little while to fall asleep, but once I did, I was out cold. I woke up around eight that night and after making myself a quick dinner, I drove to the cafe.

Sammy was parked in front of the bakery, so I pulled up across the street, flashing my lights before turning them off.

He walked over to my passenger window and leaned down. "Nothing out of the ordinary today. The crew got the window in place, so the building is secure and the girls are safely upstairs."

"Thanks, Sammy. See you in a few days."

I killed the engine and watched him drive off. There wasn't much going on, but my eyes scanned the sparse traffic that did go by, looking for the car Isabella had described. From her description, it sounded like a GTO or something similar, but we didn't know for sure.

My first shift in front of the cafe was uneventful, and Jared was there by 8 a.m. to relieve me, so I went home and crashed. The bright light and my normal routine were working against me, as I wasn't getting the best sleep, but with a thermos full of coffee, I was surviving.

The next two days were more of the same, leaving me dozing in the car as I fought to stay awake. One moment I was watching the intersection, and the next there was a knock on the passenger window.

I jumped in the seat and turned to the window with my gun drawn to come face to face with Isabella.

"Jesus," I swore. I leaned across the passenger seat to unlock the door and scrubbed my hand across my face.

"What are you doing out here?" Isabella locked the door once she was safely inside.

"I'm making sure Jimmy doesn't come around and hurt you or Alice."

"By falling asleep in your car? All you're going to do is get yourself killed. What if I had been Jimmy? I could have shot you and you would have never known it."

"Well, I'm awake now."

"Yes, and you're going to come upstairs. You can keep us safe from the apartment."

"Isabella, I don't think that's a good idea."

"And you passed out in your car like a sitting duck is? There is a deadbolt on the apartment door, so someone would have to break it down to get in. That means even if you did fall asleep, they'd wake you before they got inside. Please. I can't sleep thinking about you out here."

I sighed, because I could understand her concern and I needed to get her back inside; she looked cold sitting there in her robe. "Fine, I'll go upstairs with you."

I got out of the car and locked the door, walking around to her side. When she climbed out, I was there, checking that the door was locked before escorting her to the entrance to the apartment.

My arm was wrapped around her shoulders as she unlocked the downstairs door and then locked it behind us. We did the same at the door to the apartment, and once we were inside, I finally relaxed.

"Let me get you a blanket and a pillow."

Before I could tell her not to worry, she'd walked into her bedroom. I kicked off my shoes and removed my jacket and polo shirt, leaving me in my undershirt and slacks. Isabella returned with the pillow and blanket and sat them on the end of the couch before taking a seat beside me.

"Do you need anything before I leave you to go to sleep?" Isabella asked.

I reached out to take her hand and she squeezed it. "Thank you for coming to check on me, even though I don't think it's smart for you to be outside at night."

"I know, but I got up and saw your car sitting out there again, and I wondered how you were doing. When I got closer and saw you were asleep, I had to do something."

"I get it, Isabella. I appreciate the concern. Now, please go to bed. I'm going to try and get some rest myself."

Before I knew what she was doing, she leaned in to kiss my cheek. "Goodnight, Edward."

Isabella got up and vanished into her bedroom, leaving me with more questions than answers. Aro needed to get back soon, because I needed Jimmy handled so Isabella and I could move forward with whatever we were dancing around at the moment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the latest from Mobward and his Isabella. I figured out some things I needed for the next chapter to take shape, now I just need to write it. Hope everyone is well and I'll be working hard to get you the next chapter in two weeks. Shouldn't be a problem, just need to get him in a room to talk to me.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 6**

"And you still haven't found him?" I asked Jasper.

"He's a slippery fucker, Edward. Every time we get close, it's like he knows." Jasper shut up abruptly and I thought it was because of Alice, but when Isabella came up behind us with two coffee cups, I knew it was to protect her.

"Are you staying for breakfast, Jasper?" Isabella asked as she handed me my coffee.

"I wouldn't want to impose," he replied.

There was a clattering of something dropping into the sink, and Isabella turned in the direction of the kitchen doorway.

"I should go and check on Alice. Have a good day, Jasper."

Isabella retreated into the kitchen and Jasper shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Jasper, I swear to God-"

"Edward, it wasn't anything bad. Isabella seems to be made for this life. She'll be one hell of a Boss's wife."

"There's a lot that still needs to be sorted out. What if Carlucci stands by Jimmy?"

"He would be an idiot to do that. If you aren't one of them, you're disposable to them. They already showed that by telling Jimmy she wasn't his ticket in."

"Okay, what if they feel like she knows too much and sends one of their own men after her?"

"Two bosses are walking in there to vouch for her. He'd be an idiot to make a move."

"You're right, I just don't want to see her hurt."

"She won't be. Aro is supposed to be home in the next couple of days, right? So you'll have an answer soon."

"Yeah."

"I'm going to the bar to check in, but I'll tell dad that you'll be here today?"

"Isabella said she needed to do some shopping, so I'm taking her. I'll call the bar when we get back here."

"Have a good day."

Jasper left and we sat down to breakfast. Alice and Isabella talked the entire meal, planning out their ideas for everything from the day to day running of the cafe to the layout. I was so pleased they got along so well because it meant that Isabella might stay … even if she didn't stay for me.

Alice shooed us out of the house before dishes were even done, and as we walked to my car, I asked Isabella the first question of the day. "Would you mind if we stopped by my house? I wanted to clean up and pack a bag for the next few days."

"Fine by me."

With that settled, we drove over to my place, and I told Isabella to relax in the living room while I threw together a bag and took a quick shower.

When I returned to the living room, she wasn't there, but movement in the kitchen alerted me to where she'd wandered off to.

"Did you need something?" I asked.

"No. I was just exploring a little. Did you recently move in?"

"Yes, I've owned it for a while and done some work on it, but I started living here shortly after my trip to Chicago. Why did you assume I hadn't lived here long?"

"It seems a little sparse, like you're still finding the right pieces."

"I'm leaving that for the day I bring my wife home. I think she should have a say in how the house is furnished and decorated."

"Have you met the woman who has inspired such devotion?"

"I'm hoping so, but I don't want to rush her. She's got a lot going on at the moment."

Isabella blushed, so I didn't push her further. We locked up my house and then began our day of shopping.

I knew Fulton Street would have everything she could ever need between A&S, Martin's, and the other shops there. I parked the car in a spot that was close to the stores we needed and led her to the furniture shop I'd been in a few weeks ago.

A salesman caught us as soon as we entered and I told him we were looking for nursery furniture. He led us to the back of the store where there were individual pieces along with two different models for complete nursery sets along with wood finishes they were available in. Isabella ran her hand along the crib of one set, and I came to stand beside her.

"Do you like this one?"

"I do, and the light wood reminds me of the bleached driftwood on the beaches back home. But I don't have a whole room for the baby. I barely have a corner for him."

"Him?"

"I don't know for certain, but when I think about the baby, I picture a little boy."

"Oh. Well, we can have him order just the crib in this style."

"I'm not sure it would fit. That one there is small enough for my bedroom." She walked to the one she was talking about and gave it a closer inspection.

Isabella spent a few more minutes looking around before telling the salesman she wanted the crib and a rocking chair she'd found. The items were paid for and delivery was arranged, and we were on to the department store.

I expected Isabella to be more excited about this shopping trip, but she was very matter-of-fact about it. We started in the maternity clothing department, and I stood back and watched as she picked out a series of dresses. She ducked further into the racks, and I followed until I saw it was where they had the underwear; _that _had me retreating back to the aisle.

Soon she emerged with two large bags, which I took from her as we moved onto the area that had baby's goods. Even here, she picked up the bare minimum. The one thing that did cause her face to light up was the Moses basket. I was quick to snatch it up, and when she'd declared herself done, she quickly bought those items and started walking towards the door.

I would see her eyes catch certain things as we walked, but she'd turn back just as quickly. I had never seen a woman who didn't make a day out of shopping. Most of my personal experience was narrowed down to Esme and that one frightening trip with Alice where she tried to not only furnish her place, but mine, but Isabella was the opposite.

Once we were back inside my car, I turned to her.

"Do you want to grab something to eat? I'm starting to get hungry."

"Sure."

"Isabella, are you okay? I was expecting you to be happier today. Planning for this child should be a happy time."

"When I was little, I dreamed of this. But the way I've gone about it is all wrong. I imagined that I'd be married and my mother would be with me to help. Alice has been very helpful, but I was so starved for affection that I fell in with the worst possible man."

"You were mistreated in Seattle, but that won't be the case here. I've told you that I feel something for you, and when you're ready, I want to show you what real affection is. What it is like to be showered with love and taken into a family that will cherish you."

"Even with a baby that isn't yours?"

"My mother died when I was young and Esme has been there for me and Jasper since the moment she and my father got together. I have an example of how it is more than blood that makes someone family. Though ..."

"There's a difference between family and _family_, that I understand. I don't know what I've done to deserve it, but I'm grateful that you look at me and see more than my mistakes. I'd like to see where things could go between us, but with Jimmy lurking, I'm scared."

"Jimmy will be taken care of, I promise. Now, how about some lunch?"

"That sounds lovely."

We drove to the Sugar Bowl and were seated at a booth away from the lunch rush.

After we'd placed our orders, Isabella shifted in her seat. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask, but I hope you know I won't always answer."

"Oh, it's nothing like that. I just wanted to know what the whole story is with Jasper and Alice. All I can get from her is that he's a damned idiot."

I laughed at Alice's characterization of him. "He can be, especially where women are involved. We were all teens back then. Jasper had just turned sixteen, and I was a few months shy of my nineteenth birthday. Aro's mother, Arianna Volturi, was turning seventy-five and her nieces and nephews in Italy were making a big deal of it.

"She'd been living there since her husband's death. In the beginning it was temporary, but after Caius made his mess of things and almost cost us everything, she chose to stay. Aro insisted that my father bring us boys. At this point I was already his heir apparent, so he wanted to introduce me to some of our men in Italy. Plus it was a matter of respect to the family."

I sat back in my seat as our food was placed in front of us and our drinks refilled. As soon as our waitress was out of earshot, I continued.

"It was two weeks in paradise. Italy is one of my favorite places in the world, and to see it as a man, it opened my eyes to so much. Sadly, for my brother, he was thinking of all the pretty girls there. Alice is Aro's great niece, so of course she was there, and Jasper followed her around like a puppy from the moment they flew in. Four days after meeting her, he proposed marriage and she looked at him like he was insane."

"Did she live in New York at the time?" Isabella asked.

"No, she was born and raised in Chicago. He expected her to marry him in Italy at sixteen and move to New York, into our parents' house, after only four days."

"He was sure of himself," Isabella said with a shake of her head.

"He was. When we came home he was so upset, and then Maria pounced. She was a year younger than me, so he jumped at the fact that she was interested. Then a couple of months later she was pregnant and he married her."

"Okay, so is Alice's issue that he didn't pine for her or try harder, or that he moved on so quickly?" Isabella asked.

"My assumption is that he moved on so quickly, especially since it was with Maria Moretti. They're not to be trusted. If Lucio or Nettie Moretti ever approach you, don't give them the time of day."

"How is little Peter doing? The services for Maria should be happening soon."

"It's tomorrow, actually. We're doing a private graveside ceremony. Her parents are pissed that Jasper isn't doing a mass and a viewing, but Aro gave his orders. He wanted it taken care of while he was gone and no fuss. Not with everything she was pulling."

"What time will you be going?"

"I wasn't sure I should go. It would leave you alone. Now that I've been sleeping here at night and the men are working with Jasper and my crew on the other matter."

"You have to pay your respects. If it is about leaving me unprotected, you could bring me along. I've got a dress appropriate for a funeral, and there will only be a few people there, mostly your family."

"It would be making a statement," I warned her.

"I'm aware. But I think it is time I meet someone besides your brother."

"What will you say of the father when people ask?"

"That he passed away not long after I found out I was pregnant. Beyond that, it isn't anyone's business, and I doubt they'd even question it with you by my side."

She turned her attention back to her lunch and I did the same. Once we finished, I paid the bill and then drove home. I saw her eyes darting up to the scar that marred my hairline, but she never asked about it.

Part of me wanted her to know, so she would know that I was able to protect her and her child, just like I had Jasper.

The drive home was uneventful, and Isabella began to put away her purchases as soon as we got in. I called Jasper at the bar, asking for the particulars for the funeral. I also warned that Isabella would be there.

"Makes no difference to me. But if she's coming to something like this, things must be moving along. Congrats."

"Thanks, Jasper. We'll be there a little early in case you need backup."

"I might just take you up on it. And Peter keeps asking about the nice lady from the diner, so Isabella may be able to keep him distracted."

"Ma will be there too. Between the two of them, Peter will be in seventh heaven."

"Night, Edward."

"Night."

I could smell the food cooking in the kitchen, so I poked my head in to check on Isabella. "Any word from Alice?"

"She's staying with Sulpicia tonight. Originally, she was going to just visit her, but with the funeral tomorrow she decided to visit with her great aunt while you're busy. You know, in case Jimmy were to come by while there isn't a sentry outside."

"So, it's just us tonight?"

"That's right. Did you want to open the wine? The pasta is almost done."

I did as she asked, and soon we were sitting down to eat.

"Is this fresh pasta?"

"With me, it is either fresh pasta, or no pasta. The bread is a loaf I baked yesterday, too."

"I might put on a few pounds sleeping on this couch."

Isabella's eyes went from mine up to my hairline for a second and then back.

"Isabella, you can ask."

"What?"

"You keep looking at my hairline. So if you want to ask about the scar there, you can."

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude." She looked down.

"You aren't most people. People in this neighborhood know who I am and they'd never presume to ask anything unless it was out of need. As long as you can live with the fact that you might not always get an answer, you can always ask. I'll tell you if a subject is off limits. This scar is public knowledge."

"How did you get it?"

"It was June 23rd, I remember because it was the last week of sixth grade. We had just gotten home and changed out of our school uniforms so we could play until dinner. My dad wasn't at home as much, and we were spending a lot of time either with my grandparents or friends from the neighborhood.

"A car came down the street, so Jasper and I ran up onto our lawn. It slowed down just a little, and I saw the metal of the guy's gun as he held it out the car window. I felt the bullet graze my head, but all I could think of was getting to Jasper. My dad couldn't lose both of us. The second bullet hit me in the side as I dove on top of Jasper.

"After that, all I remember was the pain and then waking up in the hospital a few days later. I was lucky that the surgeon who was on duty at Kings Highway Hospital had served in Korea. They had to remove part of my liver and my gallbladder, but I could have died so easily. When I woke up everything was different.

"There were men outside my hospital room and there were always guys from the bar at the house. My dad and Aro weren't around much that summer and I didn't understand it. I spent the whole summer indoors, mostly because I had to rest before I could run around and do things, but Esme wouldn't let Jasper or I out of her sight.

"I remember one night, my father came to check on me when he thought I was asleep. I asked him why he was mad at me, and he broke down. He was angry at himself that they'd brought this fight to our house. Aro was upset that history was repeating itself and his godson had been hurt because of it. His sons crossed a line, and it almost got me killed. When I was well again, my father started bringing me by the bar more often. That was when I started to get my first taste of this life."

Isabella sat back in her chair. "I didn't see it as much back in Seattle, but it seems like these types of things are always popping up for you."

"These were thugs that Peter and Paulie got involved with. It is one of many reasons we don't mess with drugs. It brings in problems we don't have time for. Between the families, there hasn't been any beef since Aro took over as a young man."

"You aren't just saying that?"

"I'm not trying to trick you into this. These things I'm telling you, they played out on the streets. Day to day stuff you won't be told. You'll get a kiss on the cheek and a 'see ya later' and that will have to be okay too."

"I'm thinking I'd prefer that right now."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Why don't we just finish eating and then we can watch a little television before we turn in for the night."

Isabella nodded, and we ate in relative silence. I changed while she did the dishes, and then we sat on the couch and watched the evening's programs. By the time _I've Got a Secret_ was ending Isabella was off to her room. I made up the couch and fell asleep.

I was disoriented when a noise in the kitchen woke me up later that night. I sat up quickly, a move that startled Isabella as she came into the living room with a glass of water.

"I didn't mean to wake you. Go on back to sleep."

She turned quickly, but not before I noticed she was crying. "Isabella, are you okay?"

"Fine, I'm just being emotional. I promise I'm not normally this weepy."

"Come here." I patted the couch beside me. "What is it?"

She sat down, putting her glass on the end table before she turned to me. "Just hearing that you had such a violent childhood, it scares me for the baby."

"It was one event in my childhood. Jane had a normal childhood even with who her father is. That day was an exception, not the rule."

"Jane is Aro's daughter?"

"Yeah, she's in Italy now with her grandmother. Aro's hoping she'll fall in love with someone over there."

"Thank you for calming me down. That'll make it easier to fall back asleep."

"No problem. But can I ask for something in return?"

"Sure." She smiled.

"When this mess is sorted, I wanna take you out on a real date. Show you the good side of this life."

"I'd love that." Isabella reached over and squeezed my hand, then she picked up her glass of water and went back to her bedroom.

Meanwhile, I settled back into the couch with something to look forward to once Aro returned and Jimmy was taken care of.


	7. Chapter 7

**Lots of love to my pre-reader Sunshine1220 and my beta mizzdee for their work on this chapter.**

**A few weeks ago, I lost a surrogate big sister. She was a larger than life woman who we lost too soon. When I started writing scripts in college, I promised to write a part for her. Well, I can't think of a better fic, to put her in. There are no small roles, and I think she would have gotten a kick out of seeing herself in a period mob fic. Here's to you, Gina!**

**columbarium - a wall, building, or structure that holds cremated remains at a cemetery or church.**

**Strunzo - piece of shit**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 7**

The morning of Maria's internment, Isabella and I got dressed and made our way to the cemetery. I drove down the winding path and parked just past the columbarium, then walked around to Bella's door to help her out. We approached the small gathering of people, and Esme was practically vibrating as she saw me.

"I wasn't sure you were coming." She pulled me in for a hug and turned to Isabella as soon as she released me. "Is this her?"

"Mother," I warned.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking around you. I'm Esme Masen. I've heard a little about you, but that's mostly been from Alice. You're Isabella, right?"

"Yes Ma'am, Isabella Cigno." Isabella extended a hand, but was quickly pulled into a hug.

"Please, call me Esme. I'm so glad you were both able to make it. This is such a small ceremony, but that's the necessity of the situation."

I watched my mom link her arm with Isabella's and lead her over to the priest. My father took a few steps away from the makeshift altar by Maria's resting place and motioned for me to follow him.

"Aro called from Chicago. He won't be home until tomorrow, but we were given the go ahead. The Carlucci's washed their hands of him."

"Alice has been staying with Sulpicia since yesterday. I'd been keeping watch and Isabella, and I had errands to run, so she packed a bag. I'd feel better if she stayed there until this was over, that way we can focus our men on finding Jimmy and taking care of him."

"I agree. But that leaves Isabella alone at the apartment."

"Not if she stays with you and mom."

"Have you mentioned that to Isabella yet?"

"No, I was going to bring it up today after she met you both. That way it wouldn't seem so overwhelming."

"You thought _after_ she met Esme would be less intimidating?"

"That's your wife you're talking about."

"And I love her, but she's like a typhoon sometimes."

I heard a car door slam and saw Lucio and Nettie approaching. My dad and I stopped talking and moved to flank the family. They'd barely gotten to the altar and already Lucio was complaining.

"This is disrespectful to Maria. She should have a service in the church with the whole community able to pay their respects."

"Maria is getting a quiet service, so as not to draw attention to how she died. The father is here to give a proper ceremony, so be happy we afforded her that." My father hissed the last part, and thankfully, Moretti shut up.

"Father, you can begin the service," my mother said.

Father Francis bowed his head and began to speak. "We are here today to lay to rest Maria Masen. She was a beloved daughter and mother. A wife, sister, and friend who is gone too soon. As it is written in Lamentations 'But, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.'

"That love has the power to heal broken hearts and mend bonds torn apart by differences. It will surround young Peter and help him to remember the good times with his mother as he grows into a man. In Romans 8 we are told, 'For I am sure that neither death nor life ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

"Maria may be gone in body, but her soul resides with our Lord in heaven. There is no more pain or hardship, peace has found her."

Father Francis continued with his service, and soon the staff member from the cemetery approached. The priest motioned him forward and he removed the shroud from the simple metal urn, placing it into the wall. Nettie wept as the facing was installed, though the engraved nameplate wouldn't be ready for a little time yet.

With a nod in our direction, the staff member left and Father Francis blessed her spot in the columbarium. After a final blessing, he ended the service. Father Francis shook our hands and left.

Peter looked up at his maternal grandparents, but they didn't even acknowledge him. Isabella walked up to him and offered Peter a hand. He took it and they walked a short distance away, my mother trailing behind them.

With the Moretti's focused on their daughter's final resting place, I pulled Jasper close. "We got the okay from Seattle. So we need to plan our next move."

"What about the ladies?"

"I'm going to see if Isabella will stay with Mom and Dad. Alice is already staying at Aro's house, so I'm sure he's told her or Sulpicia it would be wise for her to extend that stay. I want Jimmy handled, yesterday."

"Got it. I'll meet you at the bar this evening so we can figure this out."

Jasper and I approached the others, and Peter reached for his father to pick him up. Jasper did and he turned to my mom. "Thanks for all the help with my little man, Ma."

"We love having him. Will we have any other guests?" My mother looked to Isabella and back.

"I'll let you know later." I took Isabella's hand and led her over to the car.

Once we were on our way out of the cemetery, Isabella turned to me. "Are Peter's grandparents always like that?"

"The Moretti's are trouble, but the fact that they're not demanding time with him or trying to fight Jasper for custody anymore means he can stop worrying on that front. He was worried that if they got him for a day, they would bolt with him."

"That's sad. But I'm sure it's a relief for Jasper. Now, what was your mother saying about them having other guests?"

"My father told me that Aro called from Chicago. Carlucci gave us permission to go after Jimmy. So things are going to get dicey until that has been taken care of. Peter will be staying with them, and Alice will probably stay with Sulpicia and Aro. My mother was asking if you would be staying with them as well, or if you were going to stay with Alice."

"Which of those options do you want?"

"If I had my choice, I'd want you with my parents. My father will be home most of the time, and I could visit freely. But you might want to stay with Alice. I'm not going to put pressure on you here. I want you to be comfortable wherever you're staying."

"I want to stay with you," she pleaded.

"Okay, so we'll go pick up some things and get you settled at my parents. I'll be staying there too so I'll come by and see you when I can."

"Edward, I want-"

"Bella, I'm barely going to be at my house as it is. Stay with my parents so I'll know you're safe. I want you around people, otherwise we'd let you stay in the apartment. I'll be there as much as I can, but we need to make this look good for Jimmy."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Don't worry about that, let's just get back to the apartment and then settle you at the house."

The drive was quiet, and when we pulled up, Alice's borrowed car was already parked outside.

We entered the apartment and found Alice going through the refrigerator. She pointed to the open door when I walked into the room. "Do I need to empty this out? Or will someone be staying here?"

"I'll probably put someone here. Don't worry about that stuff."

"Okay. Is Isabella staying with you all, or should I wait for her?"

"She'll be with us. You can head out if you want," I told her.

Alice ran into Isabella's room to say goodbye and then left her. I sat on the couch, surprised that it wasn't too much later that she emerged. With a single suitcase and her purse in hand, we locked up and headed to the car.

I dropped her off at the house, my mother promising to show her up to my old room. From there, I drove over to the bar, and was surprised that Emmett Macrino was sitting at the table with Jasper.

Emmett followed us into the office, but I didn't like it. This was my job and I didn't want it taken away because I was too close to it.

"What do you have to say, Mac?"

"I wanted to offer my help to your crew. Lighten some of the load so they can focus on this scumball."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Your men are going to be rotating between their legitimate work and this detail. So, what if some of my guys filled in for them, that way the legitimate business didn't suffer. You've got four projects with the construction crews for my uncle, right?"

"Five. The cafe was an added job," I admitted.

"Okay, so the foremen don't question who shows up to do the work, as long as they do it, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, I'll give you ten guys to spread out between those five jobs. That means ten of your guys will be free at all times to do their shifts looking for this guy. Once he's iced, my guys come back to me and yours can go back to business as usual." Emmett sat back, looking pleased with himself.

"I appreciate it. And if we can spread out our guys, we might end this quicker."

"You might think of luring him back to where he knows to look for your girl. Pull your men back from the cafe and put Alice's car back on the street. He doesn't know about Alice does he?"

"Not that we know," Jasper interjected.

"So make him think she's unprotected, he'll make a move and then-"

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" I yelled. "You want me to use Isabella as bait for that nut? What if he slips past us?"

Emmett held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything about putting Isabella in that apartment. But if you wanted a female puttering around to make it look like she was there, I have an option."

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Gina."

"You want to put your sister in that situation?" I asked, shocked.

"No, but she was visiting with Sulpicia this morning, and I don't know what was said, but she came to me after that and said if she could help, she was still a damn good shot."

"Your sister has done enough for this organization."

"And if Aro could have opened the books for a woman, she earned her button in '53 outside your hospital room."

Jasper looked between us, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"One of the guys who shot at us that day, he came for me at the hospital. Gina was there picking up her parents' personal effects when she saw my guard get shot. He didn't know anyone would be coming from that end of the hall, so he never saw her coming. She shot him before he got a hand on the doorknob."

"Christ," Jasper whispered. "And she got off?"

"She said it was self-defense, and with one of Aro's lawyers sitting beside her, it was handled, and she came home to a house full of siblings to raise," Emmett explained. "She was adamant about helping out."

"Fine, come by my parents place later and I'll get you the key, and Jasper can get Alice's car for you. That's what Isabella was driving when she had her run in with Jimmy."

"Perfect. And I'll tell my sister to pack a bag. We'll catch this jerk and make sure Isabella is safe."

"I appreciate it. I'll leave you two to figure out the logistics with the crews. Jasper, you know who I want on it."

"Yeah. We'll call the crews in here once we know who will be on this detail. The sooner we find him, the better," Jasper said, knowing I wanted this taken care of.

But it wasn't that easy. For days we searched for him, had Gina go out on little trips to the store when she wasn't staying shut in the apartment, and tried to draw him out. The fucker wasn't making a move. It made me edgy. I didn't like the idea of him going back to Seattle and making amends with Carlucci, saying he backed off once he realized he'd pissed off another family.

I was driving around at night, doing my own shifts on top of what the crew was doing. A part of me wanted to be the one to catch him. To bring him down on my own. To make him pay for everything he'd done to Isabella.

The progress reports we were getting from my men lacked any progress, which meant that I'd stay at the bar all night drinking and then make my way home. Ma wasn't too happy with that development, but there were only two things that would take the edge off right now, and the other wasn't an option.

From what Isabella had told me about her time with Jimmy, that was how she got into this mess. She was his release when he'd come home wound up tight. I'd almost lost it, but she promised he didn't hurt her. Just that the few times had been adrenaline fueled from some job he'd done, details of which she'd never known, but they'd worked him up enough to need her.

I would never be that way with her, especially since I couldn't even take her on a date yet. Which wasn't helping matters. I wanted to start building a life with her, and I couldn't do that with this _strunzo _walking around.

After three weeks of this, I was ready to snap. I closed the bar that night and stumbled into my parents' house to find Isabella curled up on the recliner. I must have been louder than I thought, because when I turned around after double checking the door, she was sitting up.

"Go to bed, I'm home now."

"You can have the bed, I'm comfortable here," she yawned.

"Isabella, I'm not having this argument with you."

"I'm not arguing. I can't sleep in the bed, so you might as well have it."

That made me turn to her. "What's wrong with the bed?"

"It isn't the bed, it's me. I try to lay down, but my agita gets bad and I get heartburn. Plus the baby is more active when I'm lying down. In the chair I can get into a position that calms us both."

"You feel the baby moving around?" I sat on the end of the coffee table so I was close to her.

"Yeah, you want to feel him?" She held out her hand to me.

I put my hand in hers and she pressed it against her stomach. I was surprised by how firm it was and then I felt the tiniest push. "Wow, that's pretty amazing. It's crazy how something so small could cause so much trouble."

Isabella removed her hand from mine and I stood, kissing her forehead before I went up to my room so that both of us could get some sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the latest from our wiseguy. Getting started on the next chapter, so I'll see you in two weeks. Hope you enjoy! And remember, I have a FB group with info and updates on all my stories.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 8**

A few hours after I passed out, I was woken up by my mother, and from the look on her face, I'd done something stupid.

"Edward Anthony Masen, you get out of that bed right now!"

"I'm up, what's the matter?"

"Isabella is downstairs crying her eyes out, going on about how she's sorry for all the problems her and the baby have caused. She promised to be out of our hair as soon as you're awake and she can pack. So what did your drunk ass say to her last night?"

"I didn't say anything. I mean, I was upset that she was sleeping downstairs and she said she couldn't get comfortable because of the baby, so she was sleeping in the recliner." I thought back to the conversation, and I knew exactly what she'd misunderstood. "I know what happened, I'll straighten it out."

I didn't bother changing out of yesterday's clothes, this needed to be handled. I ran down the stairs with my mother following behind. She went into the kitchen while I approached Isabella who was crying on the couch. I moved to sit next to her, pulling her into my side.

"Isabella, calm down, please. I'm sorry if I upset you last night, but you misunderstood me."

"No, Edward, I got it loud and clear, we're causing trouble." She tried to pull out of my grip, but I wrapped my other arm around her.

"Isabella, I was talking about the trouble the baby is causing you. The agita and not being able to sleep in the bed. How could you think anything that is a part of you would be a problem? I'm stressed because we aren't finding Jimmy, but none of that is your fault. Now, you have an appointment today, correct?"

"Yes, this afternoon," she said with a huff. The way she had her arms crossed told me I wasn't completely forgiven, even when I hadn't meant it how she'd taken it.

I heard my mother's footsteps enter the living room and I looked up at her. "Edward, your father's on the phone."

I kissed Isabella's forehead and then went into the kitchen to get the phone. As soon as I heard the noise in the background, I knew something had happened.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"There was an accident last night. Brady was killed."

"What? How?"

"He was driving over the Gerritsen Inlet Bridge on the Belt Parkway and he hit the car in front of him. From what the police told his mother, the car he hit went down the embankment and Brady went to check on the driver. The driver shot him, but he was too injured to get out of the car before it caught fire. They both died on the scene. Neighbors called in the explosion."

I held my breath, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, I asked, "Do they know who was driving the other car?"

"No. But Brady was one of yours, you should go pay respects to his mother."

"Absolutely. I'll have to swing by the office to get his home address. I'll stop by to see you first."

"Then I'll see you in a little bit."

I hung up the phone and went into the living room.

"Everything okay?" Isabella asked, a few errant tears stained her face.

"I'm not sure. I need to take care of a few things. Ma, could you take Isabella to the doctor?"

"Sure, Edward. Go see what is going on."

I ran upstairs and grabbed a quick shower, wanting to look presentable to meet Brady's mother. It took a little bit of doing, but I was soon on my way to the bar. My father was waiting in the office with Jasper and Emmett.

"Okay, what couldn't you say over the phone?"

"Brady was watching the apartment last night. Gina said she heard the car circle the block and when he came around the second time, Brady started to follow him. That was about thirty minutes before the explosion was called in. Also, from what Brady's mother said, the cops said it looked like a random act of violence because it was a rental car."

"So it was Jimmy?"

"We won't know until they trace the rental car back to him, but it looks like it."

"Let's hope they tie it up soon. I'm going to go to the construction company office and talk to the office manager about Brady."

"I'll see you at home later?" my father asked.

"Yes, sir. Emmett, come for a walk with me?"

Emmett followed me outside, and we stopped beside his car. "Is everything taken care of for his mother?"

"Yes. Rose checked it after we got the news. All of the crews who work for the construction company have life insurance. She'll have everything ready when his mother needs her help."

"Good. Do you want to come along?"

"No, I'm gonna let my crew know to stand down. This has to be him."

"Okay. I'll see you around."

I drove to the office for Macrino Construction and walked in. Rosalie Macrino, Emmett's wife, was on the phone when I entered. She was a bombshell who could have made it in Hollywood with no problems, but only an idiot would let that pretty face fool them. She didn't take any shit, and considering she ran the office for Emmett's uncle so he could oversee the whole company, she had a lot of people trying to drop shit on her doorstep.

I waited quietly as she listened to whoever was pissing her off, and then unleashed her fury on him.

"No, you listen to me. You already negotiated after the initial estimate and that was the final price you were quoted. If you don't like it, tough. But you're not going to call this office and talk to me like I'm a little girl who doesn't know her shit. If you want the job to start next week, you've got until this afternoon to come in and sign the agreement. Have a good day."

The receiver hit the cradle with a bang, and Rosalie looked up at me. "Edward, Emmett told me that you'd be coming by. I have the information for Brady's life insurance policy, and tell Mrs. Graham I'll send his last paycheck in her name as she was his next of kin."

I took the manila envelope she held out to me with a nod. "Thanks for getting this all together so quickly."

"As soon as Emmett called, I pulled everything. If Mrs. Graham needs help with any of the paperwork, I put a business card for the office in there. It can be a little intimidating, especially when you're grieving."

"I'll make sure she knows."

I left Rosalie to her work, as the phone was once again ringing, and saw the address written on the outside of the envelope. It was a five minute drive from Jasper's old house, so I knew the neighborhood well.

I took a minute to prepare myself before stepping out of the car. I walked up the path to the front door and knocked. I was met by a petite woman who looked so like the young man we lost. "Mrs. Graham? I'm Edward Masen. I was your son's supervisor."

"Mr. Masen, come in. I'm sorry, I don't have anything to offer you, but you know."

"That's quite all right, ma'am. I'm here to personally offer my condolences and deliver this."

I held out the envelope and Mrs. Graham took it. "What is this?"

"Brady had a life insurance policy through the construction company. That's the information on it. Also, Rosalie Macrino, the woman who runs the office, put her business card in there. If you have any questions, she said to call her personally and that Brady's final check will be mailed to you."

"I didn't know he had anything," she whispered.

"All of the employees do because of the work they do," I explained.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Masen."

"You're welcome. And I'm so sorry for your loss, Brady was a good kid. We're sad to lose him."

"He was."

Mrs. Graham showed me to the door and I drove back to my parents'. There was nothing to do now, but wait for confirmation.

It was three days later, when the cover of the paper had a headline about the accident. The car was tied back to Jimmy, and he had a bag in the trunk that included his passport that survived the engine fire. We had our confirmation, and Isabella was finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Moretti put his house up for sale," my father told me that evening at the bar.

"What?" I asked.

"He went to the same realtor who is selling Jasper and Maria's old place. Told him that he and his wife are moving to Italy and they want to be gone as soon as possible."

"Does Jasper know?"

"Jasper is the one who told me. The realtor contacted him about it."

"So they're giving up all the bullshit?"

"It appears so. We're keeping an eye on them, though."

I nodded, knowing things wouldn't truly calm down until all of our problems were gone. Aro entered the bar, a smile on his face. "There's my boy."

"Evening, sir. How is everything?"

"Good. I've got a job planned, but I wanted to discuss it with you first."

"Sure, did you want to come into the office with me?" It wasn't really a question; I knew the answer was going to be yes.

We got up and entered the office. "I think it is time we open the book. Jasper is starting to show that he's serious about his responsibilities, and he didn't stick his nose up Alice's skirt the minute she showed up here. And I know she's busting his balls."

"He was a big help organizing our associates during the situation with Jimmy. He kept them balanced between their construction work and their real work. And though losing Brady was a tragedy, it wasn't his mistake."

"No. And the arrangement you and Emmett came up with using his uncle's company to give your crews legitimate income was smart. With an income on paper for our men, it makes them harder to pinch unless they get caught red-handed. And Vito knows that he's got our gratitude and protection. That's the kind of thinking that makes a good boss." Aro reached into his pocket and took out his cigar case. He cut the end of the cigar and then put it in his mouth and lit it, taking a few puffs before blowing the smoke into the room.

"So what's the job?"

"It's similar to the run you and Jasper made to Chicago to handle Stefan. But don't you worry about that. I'm sending Emmett with him."

"You're sure?"

Aro looked at me and I swallowed hard. "Do you want to leave Isabella alone for a week or two? I could arrange this. But I want to see how they'll work together on a job. Your brother has been your second on that crew since he turned eighteen without being made. The soldiers on your crew knew it was just a matter of time until he was and then he'd take over."

"How many people are we opening the book for?"

"Twenty-three, including your brother. I want this organized so it can happen as soon as he returns. This ceremony will be your first official act as my underboss. Make me proud."

I nodded and Aro stood. I would need to speak to my father about this. The last time they'd opened the books was for me and the other soldiers and capos made with me, but I'd been too caught up in the moment to remember the details. I just remembered walking out of there with a ring on my pinky, a gift from Aro.

I walked out of the office and found my father sitting at a table, he looked at me and I shook my head, we could discuss this tomorrow. Tonight, I had something else to handle.

I drove to my parents' house and was upset to see that my mother was alone with Peter. "Where's Isabella?"

"Alice picked her up an hour ago to take her back to the apartment. You said everything was taken care of. Why, did something happen?"

"No, I just wanted to see her. I'll go over and speak to her."

"Here, I made sure all your laundry was done and packed your bag." My mom walked to the hall closet and got my bag handing it to me.

"Thanks, Ma. You're the best."

I went to the driveway and climbed into the car, then drove the short distance to the apartment. I could hear the laughter through the open window in the kitchen when I parked around back, so I locked up my car and unlocked the outside door.

Knocking, I was happy to hear the pause at the door before it opened. What I wasn't expecting was for Gina to answer it. "Edward, what a pleasant surprise."

She opened the door wide and I kissed her cheek as I passed. "It's always a pleasure seeing you, Gina."

"That's good to know, because you'll be seeing plenty of her once the cafe opens," Alice said from the dining table where they had a variety of baked goods.

"You're going to be partnering with them?" I asked Gina as I walked over and picked up a cannoli.

"Not partnering, just working the counter. It'll help Alice out, since Isabella has said she wants to stay in the kitchen. Alice can do some baking once Isabella's left for the morning and then we can manage the front between us. Isabella will do some prep in the evening to make things easier for her."

"Sounds like you ladies have it all worked out. Now, if I could borrow Isabella for a few minutes, I want to show her something in the kitchen."

"She's getting to see the finished kitchen before me?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you haven't been down there," I replied.

"I'm waiting for the crew to finish painting the cafe. It is so close to being done. I didn't want to spoil it."

"Fair enough. We won't be gone long."

I offered Isabella my hand and she took it, letting me lead her downstairs. If we weren't going right inside, I would have insisted on a coat, it was still too cool in the evenings to go without one. As it was, I unlocked the back door to the bakery and watched as her face lit up. She wandered around, touching every surface.

"This is truly a professional kitchen, everything we could ever need and it is so well laid out. Thank you for doing this for Alice. Having this cafe will mean so much to her. Though she's already thinking about how the baked goods may be the real money maker."

"If you two bake like what I've tasted, I have no doubt. It's been a while since we've had a bakery that truly does the Italian classics. And we're just far enough away from the other bakeries here to not compete too much."

"Is that why you chose it for her?"

"No, I wanted her to have the apartment above it so she wouldn't have to travel too far to work."

"Always thinking ahead," she said.

"I was, which is why we're down here. Do you see that empty area against the wall, away from the equipment and the door?"

"Yes."

"You can put a bassinet over there for the baby. That way he or she is with you when you're working. I know it will be difficult in the beginning to be away from the baby, so I wanted you to have a place for the baby here."

"You're so good to me, Edward." Isabella turned to me and took my hand.

"You'll always get the best of me. I was serious about taking you out. I'd like to take you to the Copacabana on Saturday."

"Edward, that's too much."

"No it isn't. You make me want to show you the world. We're never going to live a normal life, but I can promise you will always be protected."

"I've never doubted that with you. I've seen the way people look at you. You're an important man. But then you do things like making room for a bassinet and looking after my reputation on top of everything else."

"I happen to think you're worth it," I whispered.

Isabella surprised me by gripping my lapels and pressing up onto the balls of her feet to kiss me. On instinct, my arms wrapped around her and I pulled her closer. All of the fire and passion that had been building between us in the last six weeks exploded. I knew I should stop, take it slow, but in that moment I'd never wanted someone as much as I did her. We haven't even been on a date yet, and I already needed to make her mine. I wanted my ring on her finger before that baby was born, now I just needed to make it happen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Taking a little inspiration and a little liberty on this one. I apologize for the wait on this chapter. I've returned to work and that cut into my writing time significantly. But thankfully, I think I've got my rhythm and I'm working on the next chapter of this now. This Place is with my beta for next week, so that will post regularly. Thanks to Sunshine1220 for prereading this.**

**Also, for those who read The Collection, it is up for the top 10 Completed Fics of June. If you loved it, please vote. Info on that and more can be found in my FB group, Agoodwitch Writes.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 9**

My father was a big help in planning the ceremony. It would be held in the basement of our bar on the day we closed for inventory. Since it was a routine closing, no one would question it from the outside, and it gave us plenty of room for it. There was a meeting room in the back that not many people knew about, and it was perfect for what we needed it for.

As soon as we had that worked out, I spoke to my mother, telling her I needed food for a large gathering. That was all that needed to be said. She started planning a menu, and I told her that April twenty-fourth was the day of the meeting.

That was two weeks away, which didn't seem like a lot of time, but there wasn't too much to figure out, just things to get done. I'd gone to the local Catholic Supply store and looked around. When I found the prayer cards I wanted, I left, sending in one of my soldiers to buy the necessary quantity of them.

I also went to Aro's jewelry connection and spoke to him about what I wanted for Jasper's ring. With a sly smile, he led me to the back counter. "Here are some pendants. I have a few you might be interested in."

He pulled out the velvet tray and showed them to me. While they were all very nice, I didn't understand how that would work for his ring. But I shouldn't have questioned him, because soon he was showing me rings that had the face of them blank.

"You pick out the ring you want and the design for the image and I'll use the pendant as the insert in the ring. I did the same with yours when Aro asked for it. When do you need it by?"

"The twenty-first," I said.

"It will be ready. Now, which ring and design?"

I looked at the rings and found one I liked, then selected the St. Jude pendant. With a nod, he picked the two out and then charged me for the purchase. With that detail settled, I was ready to move on to the most pressing thing happening this week—my date with Isabella.

She'd tried to talk me into something a little less fancy than the Copa, but I wasn't budging. I'd called ahead and was assured that we'd have a table right up front on Saturday.

I was at the apartment every day spending time with her, and I was going to take full advantage of the fact that the bakery wasn't open yet. They were opening at the end of April, so I had a few weeks before that would be a competition for Isabella's time.

When Saturday finally rolled around, I puttered around until I could go and pick her up. I'd gotten a bouquet of roses and peonies in pinks and cream. I knocked on the door and Alice answered the door with a smile.

"Isabella, your date's here," she called out into the apartment.

I came inside to see Isabella walk out of her room in a dark green dress with a full skirt. Her rounded stomach was on display, and she looked a little nervous. I wondered if she knew how absolutely stunning she was.

I approached, offering her the bouquet in my hands.

The flowers seemed to help her focus. "They're beautiful, Edward."

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," I told her.

She looked up to meet my eyes and smiled. "I'm going to take care of these and then we can go."

Alice stepped forward. "I've got these. You two have fun."

Isabella got her coat and we made our way out to my car. On the drive into Manhattan we talked about how things were going for both of us. She was excited for the bakery to open, and I loved to hear her talk so passionately.

When we pulled up to the Copacabana, there was a man waiting for me. I got out of the car and opened the door for Isabella. "Mr. Masen, your car will be ready for you when you're ready to go."

"Thank you," I told him and left the car with him. We made our way to the stairwell that would lead us to the back entrance.

Isabella looked around confused as we moved. "Where are we going? And who was that man?"

"Relax, he works here. And we're going in the back way to avoid the line. I always go in this way."

We walked through the door at the bottom of the stairs and walked the back corridors, passing people as we went, but my focus was on the woman at my side. I opened the door to the kitchen and led her through the busy room until we came out the other side. Walking up to the host podium, the man stopped what he was doing and led us to a reserved table right up front.

There was a comedian on stage, but I knew that soon the main act of the night would be up. The waiter took our order, and we once again settled into conversation. A few of my associates were here as well, and they came by briefly to pay respects. Once our food arrived, the visits thankfully ended.

Just as we began eating, the emcee welcomed the main act of the night. Isabella seemed truly excited when she saw Dean Martin step onto the stage. He sang all of his biggest hits, even giving us a little salute during "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You."

Isabella was mesmerized, smiling and gripping my hand throughout the performance. I spent more time watching Isabella than the performance, her smiles and little reactions made me glad for my choice of venue. We would always remember the night we were serenaded by Dino. I could tell she was getting tired, but she fought through it to stay and listen to Dean sing.

I motioned for the check and the waiter took care of it. Isabella ran to the restroom before the car ride home, and then we walked out the front door and to my waiting car.

The entire ride back, Isabella chattered excitedly about everything from tonight. It made me proud how happy she was about our first real date.

"Did you know that he was the main act tonight?"

"I did. I thought you'd enjoy seeing him."

"Everything was perfect. I've always dreamed of going to the Copa, and you made it happen. The food, the show, it was all so special."

"What was your favorite part of the night?" I asked.

"The man sitting next to me. You make me feel loved."

And she was. It was hard to believe I'd never said it, because I felt it. But there was no time like the present to let her know.

"I do love you, Isabella," I said.

She gasped softly before her whispered response.

"I love you, too."

I couldn't enjoy the moment, because just as she said it, there was a loud screech of metal colliding as the car spun violently to the left. My head hit the steering wheel, and my arm reached across Isabella's chest to stop her from hitting the dashboard.

My first thought was this was an ambush, but one look at the car in front of me told me that wasn't the case. My vision blurred, and even though I fought to stay conscious, everything went black.

I woke up to bright lights and pain. I tried to sit up, but multiple sets of hands quickly restrained me. "Mr. Masen, we need you to remain still. You were in an accident, and we're trying to assess your injuries."

"Isabella?" I called out.

"Is that your wife?" someone asked.

"Yes, she's pregnant."

"She's being examined. As soon as we get any word on her condition, we'll let you know."

They continued to work, but soon I was drifting again.

When I woke up the next time, I was surprised to see Esme sitting beside my bed.

"What happened?" I asked as I sat up.

"Edward, be careful, you have a concussion."

"Where's Isabella? Is she okay? The baby?"

"She's doing well, all things considered. They were running a few tests to be sure, but she should be released any time. Even though the car hit you on her side, the seatbelt and your arm did help to keep her from being more seriously injured. Your side felt the force of the hit more. Thank goodness neither of you were going too fast."

The door to my room opened, and my father pushed Isabella through it, wheeling her right up to the side of my bed. "Edward, thank God you're all right," she said as they neared.

Esme stood up and quietly left the room with my father, leaving us alone.

"I'll be fine," I reassured her. "How are you and the baby?"

"Your wife and child are fine," she said with a smirk.

"What?" I asked.

"I guess you referred to me as your wife when they first brought us in. When they were going over my results, they told me that my husband had been very anxious about my condition."

"Not exactly how I wanted to propose, but I love the sound of it."

"So do I. I want my baby to have your name. I want to bring him or her home to your house and start a life together with you."

"I'll have to get you a ring. And the wedding would need to be soon. You're already halfway along."

"I'm pretty sure if anyone could make that happen, it would be your family." Isabella smiled.

"I'm ready to get out of here."

"You're going to have to stay another night now that you're finally awake, but I'm so glad you're not dealing with anything more serious. I could have killed the idiot that did this to us, but they did it themselves not wearing a seatbelt."

"Stay with my parents tonight. I want my mom with you in case you feel worse."

"Okay. And I'll be waiting there when you come home."

I took her hand and squeezed it. "If anything had happened to you ..."

"But it didn't. We're both okay." To prove her statement, she stood and pressed my hand against her belly so I could feel the baby kicking.

The doctor chose that moment to enter. I would have shot him if I could have, but unfortunately, my gun was somewhere in my wrecked car. Another thing I was going to have to deal with.

"Mr. Masen, it is good to see you awake. I'm not sure if your wife informed you, but we're going to keep you one more night for observation. You were both very lucky. Yesterday's accident could have been a lot worse. Ma'am, if you could give us a few minutes to run a few tests, we'll be on our way."

Isabella kissed my cheek and stepped out of the room. After the poking and prodding by the doctor, he seemed pleased with my progress and told me that the nurses would be checking in throughout the night, and if I was still doing well in the morning, I could be discharged.

Isabella and Esme returned to my room when the doctor left and they promised to return first thing in the morning.

"Sleep well. I'll be back in the morning," Isabella said.

"I'll try not to piss off the nurses tonight." I looked to Esme, who was standing back, watching the scene before her. "I'm okay, Ma, really."

"I know. I just don't like seeing you in hospital beds," she said, her voice cracking.

"Esme, why don't we leave Edward to rest?" Isabella suggested.

"Of course. I'm sure you're tired too, dear."

Esme kissed me on the forehead, and Isabella placed a sweet kiss on my lips. They left together, and I was now alone in my room.

The night was long, and not particularly restful with the constant intrusions of the nurses, but I was thankful when morning came and the doctor did his final check. He seemed pleased with everything, so he began my discharge papers.

What surprised me when I was nearly ready to leave was that my father was the one who came to pick me up. He saw my concern and he raised his hand to stop me. "Isabella's fine, she was just a little tired. Plus, I thought we could make a stop on the way home. Your mother is with her and we'll be home soon enough."

"Okay, let me get changed and then we can go."

I got dressed and then dealt with the need to be pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair. My father was waiting in a car I'd never seen before. The Cadillac DeVille was brand new, and I was jealous of my dad for his new toy.

"When'd you get this?"

"I picked it up yesterday after emptying your belongings out of your car at the junkyard. Happy early Birthday, son."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, and your gun is in the glove compartment."

"You mentioned making a stop on the way home?" I asked. All I really wanted to do was relax and catch up on my sleep.

"You can't make Isabella your wife without a ring. I thought you'd want to pick one out."

"I definitely want to do that."

We drove back to Brooklyn and went straight to the jeweler. Once again he immediately approached me, asking what I was looking for.

"An engagement ring."

He led me to the rings and I looked at the display. There were several beautiful rings, but there was one that caught my eye. I asked to see it, and the jewelers face lit up.

"Excellent choice, sir. That's a 1.29 carat marquise shaped ring."

I held the ring in my hand. The small diamonds surrounding the larger center one made it unique, perfect for my Isabella.

"I'll take it."

I didn't even flinch when he told me the cost, I just reached into my pocket. I had a wad of cash in my wallet when I'd been in the accident, and I was happy that no one at the hospital had been foolish enough to try and skim from it.

I paid the jeweler, and he got a velvet box for the ring, cleaning it before slipping it inside. He told me the other piece would be ready on schedule and I smiled, pleased with his attention to detail.

When we exited the jewelry store, my father turned to me and asked about the other piece.

"I ordered Jasper a ring as my gift to him on becoming a made man. I'm going to give it to him after the ceremony."

"That'll mean a lot coming from you. Jasper looks up to you and getting his ring from his brother and the underboss of the organization will be more special. I'm proud of the man you've become."

We arrived at my parents' house not long after, and I was happy to see Isabella resting in the recliner. I went upstairs, put the ring in my nightstand, and climbed into bed.

I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up until a small hand shook me. "Edward, Esme has lunch ready."

"I'm up." I sat up and took her hand. "Sit with me for a minute?"

She took a seat on my bed and I reached over to my nightstand. We'd already discussed it, but I was about to ask her properly. I took a deep breath and began to speak.

"We talked about this yesterday, but I'm ready to make it official. Isabella Cigno, I've loved you from the first moment I saw you. You're perfect for me and perfect for this life. You're my principessa, and you would make me the happiest man if you agreed to be my wife. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she whispered. Her eyes were bright and they shone with unshed tears.

I took out the ring and slipped it onto her finger, happy that it fit.

"This ring is beautiful. And I can't wait to start my life with you."

"Well then, you'd better start planning, because we only have a few months before baby makes three."


	10. Chapter 10

**I did a lot of research into the feelings of the Roman Catholic Church in this time period of marriages where the bride is expecting. There were a lot of interesting ideas on postponing the wedding until after the birth, which is why I went the way I did here.**

**Also, my prereader, Sunshine1220 kept me in line on this one, and I love her for it. Her and my beta are the best. Mizzdee is still working on this, so any errors are mine. I'll post an updated copy if she catches anything that was missed. Hope you enjoy and thanks for all the awesome reviews!**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 10**

The day finally arrived. Esme, Alice, and Isabella were setting up the food so we could begin once the men arrived. I noticed the platters of baked goods and smiled.

But I caught the look on Isabella's face and was immediately worried.

"Isabella, is everything okay?" I asked.

"We'll talk tonight, once you're done here."

"Isabella-"

"You need to be a boss right now, not my fiancé. Nothing will change in the next few hours."

I nodded, knowing she was right. "Thank you for your help. And we will discuss this tonight."

"Yes, Dear."

Isabella left with Alice and my mother, and I took my place at the head table. Emmett and my father waited outside the room while Aro was up at the bar.

I heard people making their way down into the basement. My father opened the door, and one by one, they filed into the room and took their seats at the other tables. Once all twenty-three men were in the room along with my father and Emmett, we sat down and ate our dinner.

You could feel the tension from some of the newer men, but breaking bread was as important as the oath itself. It was a Sunday supper of sorts, anchoring the ceremony in the tradition of family.

Once the meal was done, dishes were quickly cleared, and then we returned to our seats so the business could begin. I pulled out my gun and sat it on the table to my right. I repeated the action with my knife, placing it on the left. As I stood, all of the men turned to me, doing the same.

Emmett walked to each of the men and gave them one of the Virgin Mary prayer cards. I placed a platter where each of their dinner plates had been. Once everything was in place, I began.

"Each of you pick up your knife and prick your trigger finger." I watched as each of them followed my instructions before I continued. "Hold the card in your other hand and let the blood flow onto it. Blood is how we enter this life, and it is how we all leave it. By swearing this oath, you join this family, bound by the blood spilled today."

I pulled out my lighter and walked up to each man, lighting his card on fire. "Silence. Honor. Humility. This is the world you enter today. We protect our own and remember the debt owed to this family. A man who would raise his hand to his family is no man, he is trash. We settle things like men, amongst men, we don't run to the cops like cowards. When you walk out of this room, you are one of us. You will live and die by the gun you carry. If you dishonor your oath and this organization, the price is high. You would do well to always remember that."

Each man held his card until it burned to his fingertips, only then dropping it onto the platter. I picked up my gun and made the same trek around the room, holding my gun to the head of each initiate as they swore their fealty to the organization. When I reached my brother, he stood tall and proud as he took the oath.

"You are all Men of Omerta. Go now, but never forget what you swore to this day."

Each man bowed their head slightly and picked up their weapons so they could leave. Jasper lingered, and I motioned him forward.

"Thank you, Brother, for believing in me enough to vouch for me. I know Aro wouldn't have baptized me if you'd thought I wasn't ready."

"You're making me proud, Jasper. In fact, I have something for you."

I pulled the ring out of my pocket and gave it to him.

"This is perfect. Is that St. Jude?" Jasper asked as he looked closely at the ring.

"He is the patron saint of lost causes, and you will fight for things longer than anyone else. It wasn't meant as a dig. I really am glad to have been the one to swear you in. You're one of us now."

"That means the world to me. But I should get home. Peter wants me to read him a story tonight." Jasper slipped the ring on his pinky and made a fist, as if testing the fit.

"Go be with your son, we'll talk soon."

My father and I cleaned up the mess of the ceremony, thankful the bar had a full kitchen. When the work was done, I headed to my parents' house, hoping Isabella would be there since she'd wanted to talk. I was happy to find her on the couch when I walked in.

"Isabella, can we talk about what had you so upset earlier? Are you having a hard time finding a venue? Or is Ma being overbearing?" I sat beside her on the couch and she shook her head.

"Esme has been a dream helping me with wedding plans. We went to the Hotel St. George and they said they'd be happy to host our wedding on June twelfth in one of their larger ballrooms to accommodate the size of our event. Esme and I will be going there next week to discuss the menu and decor with their coordinator so that will be put to bed since the wedding is seven weeks away."

"I don't know what would upset you about that? I can go to this meeting if you want, but I have every faith in you and Esme to make it a day to remember."

"That's just it," she said. "It can't be a day to remember if we can't get married."

"Why would that be an issue?"

"Because Father Francis told Esme and I he wouldn't perform the wedding while I was with child. The way he looked at me, I wonder if he would allow us to be married at his church even after the baby is born."

"What exactly did he say?" I asked, my voice hard.

"He said that a ill-timed pregnancy wasn't a reason for a wedding, and he wouldn't perform a ceremony that was being done to mitigate a sin."

"I'll handle this," I whispered.

Isabella clutched my hand, pulling me back to her as I went to stand.

"Edward, don't do anything rash."

I turned to see her anxious expression. "My Love, I'm not going to hurt him. I simply need to make Father Francis aware of a few things. Now, I'd better go if I wish to catch him after the Sunday evening mass."

I got in my car and drove to St. Peters, seeing the last few cars drive off from the parking lot. I pulled in and made my way to the church, finding Father Francis cleaning up the altar. He heard my approach, stopping his task to meet me at the top of the aisle.

"Edward, good to see you. How may I help you?"

"I heard about a conversation that you had with my fiancee and my mother. Can we talk?"

Father Francis' face clouded as he sighed. "Very well, take a seat."

I sat in the front pew and the Father sat beside me. "I'm shocked you would refuse her request for us to be married in my parish church. Isabella is not from New York, so this was the logical choice. I'm also displeased with the way you voiced your concern."

"Edward, you've been a devout parishioner, as has your family, but it is my job to protect the sacraments. Divorce is not something recognized by the church. A child born out of wedlock can be legitimized by the marriage of his or her parents and their baptism into the church. It isn't ideal, but it is better than the alternative of a hasty marriage."

I took a deep breath, remembering that I was inside a church talking to the priest that had married my father twice and baptized me. "Father Francis, there is a great deal of assumption in your statement. Isabella's child is not mine. The father has passed, but they were not married for the very reason you stated. Our relationship was a whirlwind, but my love and devotion to both Isabella and her child are not to be questioned. We want to be married before the child is born, I want to be able to bring them home from the hospital to our home. I'm entering this knowing that I will be raising a child that is not biologically mine, but that doesn't concern me because I love her."

"I see," he said. "You're truly sure that you wish to marry this Isabella Cigno?"

"I am," I answered.

"Then I will add your wedding to the calendar for June twelfth. We will need to schedule your Pre-Cana, but I don't believe that will be a problem. Please convey my apologies to Isabella, and I look forward to seeing you both soon."

"Thank you, Father Francis."

I stood and left the church, driving back to my parents' house. I picked Isabella up and drove her home, explaining that I'd worked everything out.

"You didn't yell at the priest, did you?"

"No, I simply explained he'd assumed incorrectly, and that while the child isn't mine, I'm committed to you both. Knowing I chose this when I could have walked away seemed to ease his concern. He offered his apology to you and is ready to schedule our Pre-Cana seminars. I'm hoping we can complete them relatively quickly, but we shall see what he has in mind."

"And when will that be?"

"I was hoping you'd attend mass with me tomorrow and then we can discuss it with him afterwards."

"That sounds lovely. I'll be ready at eight so we can get there early."

"I look forward to seeing you in your Sunday best," I told her with a smirk.

"Edward, be good," she whined. I pulled up outside the bakery and walked her to the door, giving her a brief kiss before returning to my own home for the night. Tomorrow, we'd be stepping out for the whole parish to see.

Sleep came easy that night, and I woke up in the morning to get ready for church. I drove to the apartment and true to her word, Isabella was ready for me when I arrived.

We drove to the church and met my family inside, sitting in our normal pew as we waited for the mass to begin.

The service was uneventful, but as we exited, I took Isabella's hand and led her to Father Francis where he was greeting parishioners.

"Good morning, Father," Isabella said.

"Good morning, Isabella. And may I say congratulations on your engagement. I hope you and Edward have time to speak to me once I'm done here. We should set up the Pre-Cana seminars so that they can be done in time."

"We were hoping to set up a schedule for that as well, so whenever you're done here, we'll be ready."

"Edward, you know the way to the rectory. Why don't you and Isabella wait there? She'll be able to sit and rest her feet instead of standing out here wilting in the sun."

"An excellent idea, it is unusually warm out today," I said.

Aro approached us as we walked to the rectory. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," I answered. "We have to set up our meetings with Father Francis so he told us to wait for him at the rectory."

"Well done, son. Isabella, lovely to see you, as always." Aro leaned in to kiss both of Isabella's cheeks and she blushed at the attention.

"You too, Aro. I hope to see you at the grand opening of the cafe next week."

"I wouldn't miss it. Ciao, principessa. Edward." I nodded to him and then we stopped to speak to my family briefly.

Peter was in love with his Auntie Bella, asking if she would bring him cookies from the cafe. She promised he'd get a special box, and then we said goodbye to my family until supper that evening.

We didn't have to wait in the rectory long, and Father Francis was very accommodating. Since it was normally six months of preparations done at monthly meetings, we condensed them into six bi-weekly meetings, so we'd be done a month before the ceremony.

We went back to Isabella's apartment to relax before going to my parents, and though she was invited to dinner by Esme, Alice was going to Aro and Sulpicia's house instead.

Dinner that night consisted of two topics, our upcoming wedding and the opening of the cafe. It seemed they were already planning to be a bakery as well as a cafe, so Isabella was anticipating a lot of time in that kitchen.

When dinner was done, I took her home, knowing she'd need an early night since she was doing a lot of the prep for the bakery tomorrow as it was opening on Tuesday.

I was busy on Monday, but I managed a quick visit to the cafe with Aro, where Isabella gave us both a box of treats to take home as she got some of the work done for tomorrow morning.

"Don't stay up too late tonight, we have our first Pre-Cana session tomorrow."

"I know. I'll be able to rest tomorrow once I've gotten the morning baking out of the way."

"Okay. I'll be by tomorrow."

I left her alone and returned to Aro's house. Sulpicia was in the kitchen when we arrived and I saw the way she wrinkled her nose when the box from the cafe was sat on the counter.

Aro either ignored it or didn't notice the reaction from his wife as we talked about the shipment our men were intercepting. It felt odd to not be one of the men doing the work, but Aro kept reminding me I was a boss now.

"Your job is to be visible. Stepping out with your girl is a great way to do that."

"I'll remember that."

I once again returned home, knowing tomorrow would be a busy day.

Sleep was hard to come by, and by four-thirty, I'd given up on it all together. I got dressed and made my way out to my car, driving until I found myself parked behind the cafe. The lights were on in the kitchen, so I knew my girl was in there. I knocked on the door and after some noise on the other side, she let me in.

"Edward, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted. I locked the door behind me and made my way over to her latest task, sfogliatelle.

"So you came over here to check on me?"

"No, I honestly just got in my car and this was where I wound up. It would seem I'm drawn to you like a moth to a flame."

"Better watch that you don't get burned," she teased.

"How long have you been at this?"

"Since three, I couldn't sleep." She expertly cut and shaped the lobster tails and filled them with the cream. The speed at which she made them impressed me, and soon they were in the oven and she was moving on.

I walked over to the door that led to the cafe and the pastry counter and it was already half full with baked goods. "Wow, that's a lot of work for less than two hours."

"Most of those were prepped last night and had to be baked or decorated today. Speaking of which, open the fridge and pull out the trays of rainbow cookies. I need to cut them."

She put one of the doughs she was working on in the fridge and got to work cutting the rainbow cookies and placing them on the trays. Isabella even fed me one as she handed me the tray and asked me to put them in the case. I did what she asked and was back in time to see her cutting the leaf cookies.

"If I'm just getting in the way, I can go," I offered.

"Not at all. I'm just trying to keep the momentum. These are the last of the cookies. Then it is all frosting the cakes and letting the pies cool so I can put the finishing touches on."

For the next hour and a half I watched as she baked the leaf cookies before freezing them so they could be dipped in dark chocolate and sandwiched together. From there it was icing on pound cakes and glazed on the lemon and blueberry bundt cakes. Cream piped onto pies and powdered sugar sprinkled on everything else.

Alice was unlocking the front door to let in Gina as I led Isabella out the back. She had two boxes in her hand and when I asked about them, she told me one was for Peter and the other was for Father Francis.

"You don't need to butter him up, Isabella. He's already agreed to marry us."

"Still, I thought he'd appreciate the gesture. We have six meetings to complete before he will officially sign off on the wedding."

"Don't worry about that, everything will be fine. Now, are you going to relax? It will be a long day if you don't."

"My plan was to take a nap, that way I'm rested for later. After church I'll need to go back to the bakery to prep things for tomorrow."

"Well, I'll leave you to your rest then," I told her.

"Or you could join me," she whispered.

"Isabella," I warned.

"Edward, we're engaged, and it isn't like you have to worry about knocking me up."

"I'm going to leave you to your nap," I said.

"Fine, I'll be good, but I do want you to stay with me. I think it will help me to sleep."

Shaking my head, I led her up to the apartment. "I'll pick you up around four o'clock."

Isabella huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly annoyed at my refusal of her tempting offer. "Have a good day, Edward."

We parted ways and I went home to try and get some sleep myself. I managed to catch a few hours and ate some lunch before going to get Isabella. I knocked, but there wasn't an answer. I tried the door and it was open, so I entered the apartment.

I heard some noises from Isabella's bedroom, but when a man's voice was followed by her groan I was throwing the door open, wishingI had my gun on me.

I stopped short when I saw Jasper working his hands into the muscles of her lower back.

"Edward, can you give me a hand?"

I moved quickly to Isabella's other side and we got her seated back on the bed. "What happened?"

"It was just a muscle spasm. My back is really tight."

"Will you be able to meet with Father Francis tonight?"

"Yes, I just need to rest a minute. Jasper, could you get me a glass of water?"

"Sure, Isabella." Jasper left the room and I took a seat beside her.

"Can I do anything?"

"No, I think I'll be okay, I just need a few minutes."

"What was Jasper doing here?"

"I was in the cafe when he stopped by and I told him about the box I'd put together for Peter. He came up with me and then my back started bothering me. I walked in here to get my purse when the next pain almost knocked me to my knees. He ran in to check on me."

"I'm glad he was with you. Maybe I should have stayed earlier."

She waved me off when Jasper returned with her glass.

After a few minutes of rest and drinking the water that Jasper brought her, we made our way to the church. She gave Jasper the box for Peter before we left, and she walked into the rectory with the box for Father Francis.

He seemed pleased by the offering and we were soon seated in his office. He outlined the topics we'd be discussing and moved right into the first set of topics, careers and finances.

"This is usually a safer topic, but as Isabella is working, it may be best to see how you will handle this matter."

"The cafe allows me to do something I love, but it isn't going to be my main focus. It is something I'm doing a few hours in the morning and again in the evening. I'm not working long hours all day, and that will change again once the baby is born. But Edward is the breadwinner, and I'm not concerned with challenging that."

"Edward?" Father Francis asked.

"Isabella's work at the cafe isn't something I'm against. Far from it, I'm excited that she has something that brings her that joy. I've spent time with her at the bakery, and I even made sure there was room for a bassinet for the baby when he or she is little and has to go with Isabella to work."

"I'm glad to hear that these are things you've already worked out. Should we move one?"

We moved onto the topic of conflict resolution, and it seemed that we were once again on the same page there. With the session over, we would be meeting again on Thursday to tackle the next topics selected by Father Francis.

After picking up dinner, we returned to the apartment and Isabella and I had dinner before she stretched and bid me good night.

We were moving closer to being man and wife, and I was ready to take that step and be the only family they needed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the patience while I dealt with some RL mess. This story will be back to every two weeks, and This Place will post next week as I'm still working on that. Writing two weddings (one 1880's Colorado and the other 1960's New York) back to back is a little crazy, but I'm finding ways to manage and make them distinct. Huge thanks to Sunshine1220 for being my awesome pre-reader, and Mizzdee for her red pen skills and complete lack of mafia knowledge. It let's me know if something needs more explanation.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 11**

I watched Isabella closely during Sunday supper at my parents' house. It was barely five o'clock and she was yawning. Though, she was nearly seven months along and her mornings started around four o'clock. Earlier in the meal Esme had declared the wedding planning complete with two weeks to spare. I hoped now that Isabella wasn't running around in between her mornings and evenings at the cafe, she'd be a little better rested.

Pre-Cana was complete and Isabella had Father Francis wrapped around her little finger.

As for me, I wanted the next two weeks to go smoothly for both of us, so I could call Isabella my wife.

When dessert was being cleaned up, I grabbed my coat and found my mother in the kitchen and kissed her cheek.

"You're taking off?" Esme asked.

"Yeah. My girl's tired. But I may need your help with something."

"What's that?"

"I've got a barely decorated house, and I'm about to be a married man. I'm going to talk to her about finishing it, but she'll need help."

"I'll be available whenever she wants to go," Esme told me.

"Thanks, Ma. I can always count on you."

I went out to the living room where Peter was talking a mile a minute and Isabella was trying to keep up.

"Hey, Peter, isn't it time for you to get cleaned up for bed?"

"But I'm talking to Auntie Bella." He pouted.

"I know, but I need to get your Auntie home so she can rest."

"Bye, Auntie." Peter threw his arms around Isabella and then hugged me. We said goodbye to the rest of the family and then made our way out to my car.

"How are you feeling?"

"My back bothers me after being up all day, and this little one isn't so little anymore." Isabella rubbed her belly as I opened the door for her. She slid into the seat and I closed the door, walking around to the driver's side.

"What did the doctor say?"

"That it isn't uncommon, especially since I'm on my feet during the day, but I need to listen to my body and know when to slow down."

"And when is that going to start?" I asked.

"I talked to Alice. She's going to do the prep work in the evenings for me. I'll still be doing the morning baking, but if I'm not going back in the evening, I'll be able to relax more."

"Good. Now, I hate to add to your workload, but I do have a job for you."

"What's that?" she asked.

"I want you to finish decorating our home. You've seen it. You know what is missing, and I want you to do everything you can to make it the home of your dreams. Esme said she'd help you in any way she could."

Isabella smiled. "That's a job I'll gladly take on, but I have one condition. Stay at your parents' house until it is done so I can reveal everything to you."

"Done. Do you think it can be finished before the wedding?"

"With Esme's help, I have no doubt."

I nodded, happy to give her the keys to my house if it meant she was happy with our home. I pulled up by the door to the apartment and gave her the spare set of keys I'd had made for her. She put them in her purse and then I lifted my ass off the seat so I could reach into my pocket and take out the wad of cash I had there.

"Here's some cash to buy whatever you want. If you need more, let me know."

Isabella looked at the bundle of cash and shook her head. "I can do anything I want?"

"Anything. But I'll ask not to repaint the living room bubblegum pink."

Isabella smiled at my teasing. "I wouldn't even paint a little girl's room that color."

"Then you're free to do whatever you like. Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Edward." I leaned over to kiss her goodnight, savoring the moment before she left.

I watched her walk to the door, and after a moment, I drove off. When I got home, I packed a bag before going to bed. The house was clean, so I didn't need to worry about making anything more difficult for her.

The following morning, I drove to the bar and sat down at a table in the back. Aro was supposed to be arriving later, but until then, I was available in case one of our capos had some issue to bring to me.

It was still taking some getting used to not doing the work myself, but Aro was firm that I was a boss now.

My father walked in just before lunch with takeout from the diner. He sat at my table and I was a little curious about his arrival.

"I had an idea, but I wanted to broach it with you before I did anything," my father said as he took out our respective orders.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Isabella doesn't have a car. Now, I know driving is difficult in her current condition, but I wanted to get her a car as a wedding gift."

"What were you thinking?" I asked, intrigued.

"1965 Chevelle. One of the dealers is in arrears with us, and I saw a beautiful one in Tahitian Turquoise on his lot. Thought it would be a nice ride for my daughter-in-law."

"I don't have a problem with that, but make sure our mechanics look at it first. I'll be damned if he gives us a lemon to recoup part of his debt and Isabella is hurt in the process."

"Of course. Your mother left early this morning, something about having two weeks to do the impossible."

"I don't know why they think it's impossible, but Isabella is redecorating what is soon to be our home. So I'm moving into my old room for the duration."

"Ahh, that makes sense then. Isabella was adamant that they begin with the bedrooms."

"She can start wherever she likes."

We ate and chatted about some things with the business as well as plans for after the wedding.

"Isabella's due in about two months or so, so there won't be a honeymoon."

"Are you thinking of planning something for next spring?" my dad asked.

"I'd like to, but I'd have to speak to Aro. I know she's never been to Italy, so I'm hoping to take her there."

"It is funny you should mention traveling to Italy," Aro said as he came up behind us. "I'll be going there in a few weeks with Sulpicia."

"What's in Italy?"

"It appears Jane has found a suitable husband with my mother's help, so she's getting married at the beginning of July. We'll be there for about three weeks and then I'll be back right around when Isabella has her baby. That way you can take it easy with the two of them once the baby arrives. No one should bother you unless it is urgent."

"I was hoping you'd be open to that. Especially in the beginning."

"It is important for you to bond as a family. You've committed to raising this child, so I want you to be there to help. Sulpicia had a very rough few months after each of our kids, so Isabella may need the support."

"And I want to give it to her."

"Good. Come the spring, I'll arrange for you three to go to Italy for a month. The weather will be nice and there's a chance for you to show Isabella her heritage," Aro said. "Consider that one of my wedding gifts."

"Thank you, sir. That will mean a great deal to Isabella, and I know I'm looking forward to it."

Conversation drifted back to business matters and some upcoming deals we were trying to arrange.

That evening, I went to the cafe to check on Alice, but was surprised to see Isabella with her in the kitchen.

"I thought you weren't going to be working in the evenings anymore?" I asked, arms crossed.

"I was upstairs, but Alice was having an issue with this recipe, so I came down to talk her through it. I've been here about ten minutes," Isabella told me defiantly.

"Fine. I came to see if you wanted to go to dinner."

"Dinner's just come out of the oven upstairs, so if you want to join me, there's more than enough," Isabella offered.

"That sounds lovely."

Isabella offered a last bit of instruction to Alice and then walked over to me so we could exit the kitchen together. "Your mother called some woman named Rosalie and arranged for a few men to come by your house to paint a few of the rooms and make a few changes. I thought you should know."

"You'll meet Rosalie at the wedding, she's Emmett's wife. Was that all you did today?" I posed the question as we walked up to the apartment and she unlocked the door.

"No, we took care of that in the morning. The men were very helpful. They brought the paint swatches to the house so I could pick out what I needed to and discussed the shelving units I wanted them to build. They promised to be there tomorrow morning, so we'll let them in and then we can be on our way. If you trust who Rosalie is sending, I didn't think it was a problem. But if you want to have one of your guys at the house, you can make that call tonight."

I took a seat at the dining table while she worked on getting our dinner finished.

"I'll send Jasper to check on them, but I'm sure they're good if Rosalie sent them," I called out to her.

A few minutes later, Isabella carried in two plates of lasagna, with bread and salad. She darted out of the room again and returned with two wine glasses and a bottle of pinot noir. "All right. Now, I know your furniture is mostly new purchases, but I wanted to tell you that I've bought all new bedroom furniture. Esme told me that we could have it donated to a consignment shop that would give our portion of the profit to the church."

"Was it that bad?"

"They weren't awful, but I feel it is bad taste to start a marriage on a used bed." The way her eyes narrowed and the speed with which she brought the glass of wine to her lips let me know that she was jealous. Little did she know she had no reason to be.

"Isabella, that wouldn't have been an issue, even if we'd kept my old furniture."

"Maybe not to you, but I plan on being the only woman to have slept on our marriage bed." She practically growled the word bed, making me smile. Isabella was a touch possessive.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. No woman has been in my house besides Esme and Alice."

"You've never brought a woman home with you?" She punctuated her question by stabbing at a piece of lettuce.

"No."

"I find that hard to believe."

Her continued questioning of me was beginning to piss me off. "Look, I'm not saying I was a monk, but I would go back to the girl's place. And even then, I've never actually ..." I trailed off, not sure how to tell her, but it didn't matter as she jumped in with her own thoughts.

"Don't be ridiculous. Are you seriously trying to convince me that you're a virgin?"

"I'm not trying to convince you of anything. I'm telling you outright that I am. I saw what sticking your dick in the wrong woman got you. Jasper gave me a front row seat to that mess and I wasn't going to make the same mistake."

Isabella gasped and threw her napkin onto the table. "I think you should leave."

She stood, walking briskly to her purse where she dug out the cash I'd given her and the spare keys to my house. When her shaking fingers moved to her ring finger, I stood and grabbed her hands to stop that movement. "Don't you dare take that ring off. I put it there and no one is going to take it off. Not even you."

"So you're happy to marry another man's mistake? Raise the bastard she got when she let him stick his dick in her?"

"Don't say that!" I roared. Her movements stopped and I was able to pull her into my chest. Her arms were ramrod straight at her sides, but at least she'd stopped trying to take off my ring.

"There's a difference between the type of girl you mess around with and the kind you marry. That bastard was an idiot not to see your worth, but it was my gain. You're the kind of girl you make a wife out of, and I'm not going to let you run away or try to push me away because you're scared. You're it for me, you understand?"

I felt her arms wrap around me as she fisted my shirt in both her hands. As soon as she had a solid grip, the torrent of tears began. I soothed her as best as I could and then moved her closer to the table. While she calmed her breathing, I put the keys and cash back into her purse and shut it. She sat down and picked up her fork, but didn't make a move to begin eating again. After a minute, she sat the fork back down.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"When we're alone, you can yell at me if you want to. Just remember that when we're out in the neighborhood, we're a united front."

"I know," she hiccuped.

"No more tears. I'm sure the stress isn't good for the baby."

"Probably not, but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

I reached over to take her hand. "That isn't going to happen. This is just the beginning for us."

We eventually picked up our forks to finish dinner and once it was over and the kitchen was cleaned up, I convinced Isabella to make an early night of it. If she was going to be shopping with my mom after an early morning at the cafe, she'd need her rest.

As the days went by, Isabella was busy and my mother enjoyed telling me that I would love the house when it was done.

What I really wanted was for this last week to be done so I could call her my wife.

Finally, two days before the wedding, my mother gave me the news I wanted over breakfast.

"You can pick Isabella up after you finish eating, your house is finished."

"Thank goodness. I'm ready to see what she's done."

It didn't take long for me to eat, and after a call to make sure Isabella would be ready when I got there, I picked her up and we headed to the house.

The first thing I noticed was that the outside of the house looked vastly different. It seemed that the crew she'd used inside also helped her with the exterior. The brick that had been beige was now grey and the door was jet black. She'd also had someone come out and plant bushes and flowers making it look much more inviting than I would have ever thought to do.

"You're quiet already, do you not like it?" Isabella asked, biting her lip.

"No, just the opposite. I was thinking about how I would have never thought to do this, but I love it. I'm just surprised that you didn't have them paint the garage doors black as well."

"They were going to, but the crew noticed some of the wood was rotting, so they're installing all new garage doors tomorrow. Sam is part of the team, so I knew you wouldn't mind him being here if I'm not."

I looked at her. "How do you know Sam?"

"I recognized him as one of the people who was sitting outside when Jimmy was on the loose, and that day you sent Jasper to check on them, he and Sam had a lengthy conversation. So I gathered he was here for a lot more than his ability to swing a hammer."

I nodded. "He's trustworthy. I'm glad you were able to spot that. Now, show me what you've done with the place."

Isabella led me to the front door and unlocked it. When I entered the house, it definitely felt different. The walls were a soft blue. It was something I'd seen in a lot of houses, but I was happy that she'd chosen something closer to a sky blue. The couch I'd chosen was gone, and it's tan replacement was now covered in plastic, and the chairs around the glass and wood coffee table were green. The largest change was the wrap-around shelf that was installed two feet from the ceiling. It had some vases and other little figurines already in place, safely out of reach.

"Keeping things safe from little hands?" I asked.

"Yes. Though the curio is something Esme said your father had saved for you. It was your mother's, as are the figurines and glass work that are inside." Isabella gestured to the glass cabinet and I walked over, vaguely remembering the thing from our living room when I was little.

"She'd be happy to see it all getting used. Show me the rest."

Isabella led me through the kitchen, which hadn't seen much change, but I was sure the decisions Esme had made were to her liking. There was some new artwork and items around, and I was sure she'd gotten us new dishes and cookware since I'd had none of that.

The dining room was one of the rooms she'd really made her own, but I was surprised by the mural that she had painted there. A small shelf sat below it, making it look like a window out onto a vineyard.

"Who did you find to paint that so quickly?" I asked, taking a step closer.

"I had the guys prime it, but I did the mural and the effect to make the rest of the wall look like stucco."

"You did this? Is there anything you can't do?" I turned to her, my amazement clear.

"There's a lot I can't do," she whispered.

"I've yet to see anything that matters."

She blushed at my comment but didn't respond. Instead, she led me to the master bedroom and I smiled at how she'd completely changed it. There was enough storage between the two dressers to hold our clothing, but the real surprise came when I looked at the partially open closet door.

"You've already moved your things in?"

"I thought it would be easier to do it now and only have a few things to pack the morning of our wedding instead of dealing with it afterwards."

"That makes me very happy. And I can't wait until you and I are able to make use of this brand new bed."

"Me either," she whispered. There was fire in her eyes and it made it quite difficult to resist her, but we'd made it all this way and I was determined to hold off for two more days. I broke the eye contact first and I heard her sigh as she spoke.

"There's still plenty left to show you."

Two of the other three bedrooms had been done plainly for potential guests, but the room next to ours was done in the nursery set she'd been eyeing when we'd gone shopping that first time.

"Esme took your old crib out of the attic at your house so it would be ready for when she watches the baby. She's over the moon ready for the day she gets to be a nonna again."

"Everyone is ready to meet this little bundle, but he or she still has a few more months."

"Two, and I'm ready for this pregnancy to be over." Isabella rubbed her belly as she spoke.

"Their time will come soon enough."

The master bathroom and the second bath had little changes beyond decorative pieces added, so we walked down the stairs to the basement.

I was not prepared for the changes down here. There had been a kitchen here, but it was obviously not to Isabella's liking as she'd torn it out and had new cabinets installed. I was amazed it had been done so fast, but I knew better than to question her or the crew Rosalie had assembled to do the work. There was a large island with a marble top that matched the counters and two ovens. An alcove that I'd not known how to use on the opposite wall had cabinets and shelves added, along with a bar in front of it. A much less formal family room, which had my couch from the living room, took up the rest of the space.

"I thought you'd like a space where you could have people over that was away from the family on the main floor, but when I'm doing some heavy duty cooking, I'd have more space and a place for the kids to play." She smiled.

"Kids, huh? You see us filling up all of those spare bedrooms?" My voice dropped down as I said it and I was rewarded with a blush on my Isabella's cheeks.

"I've always wanted a big family. I hated being an only child."

"Well, I -" My sentence was cut off by the shrill ringing of the phone. I walked to the end table and answered it. "Hello?"

"My boy," Aro said, "I need to speak to you briefly before the festivities begin. You're meeting your brother and the men at the bar?"

"Yes, we should be there around seven. What time did you want to meet?"

"I'll come by the house now. Is the principessa there?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Excellent. I want to speak to her as well."

"Come to the side door, you can see all of Isabella's hard work for yourself."

"Perfect. I'll be by shortly."

The line went dead and I turned to Isabella. "Aro is on his way, he wants to speak to both of us."

"I'll get started on something for lunch. Come upstairs when you're done."

I sat around, waiting for Aro, and true to his word, he was here in about twenty minutes.

"Isabella made some big changes down here. Very nice."

"She definitely turned it into a home."

Aro nodded and sat down on the couch, which I joined him on. "I've purchased both the Moretti's house and your brother's. The sales are final and I'm going to redo them and sell them. I've spoken to Vito and Rosalie about it, so they're on board. But with that, I've got an offer for you. The cafe and the apartment above it, you've been handling that for me, so I'm giving them to you. Sign this paperwork and they're all yours."

I took the document Aro pulled out of his inside suit pocket and signed where it was indicated. He took the document back and promised to get me a copy once his lawyer had handled everything.

We went upstairs and I was smiling as Aro looked around. Isabella came out with chicken caprese sandwiches and some water. Once we were all seated, Aro turned to my bride-to-be.

"Before all the well wishes and gifts begin, I want to tell you about my wedding gift. Next spring, when your little one is a little older, the three of you will be spending a month in Italy. You can plan it with Gianna, she'll handle everything and bill me."

"Aro, that's too much," Isabella responded.

"Nonsense. It is my gift to my godson and his bride. Edward told me he wanted to take you to Italy and I will make it happen."

"Thank you, Aro, really," I said.

"Yes, thank you, Aro. I've always wanted to go to Italy," Isabella gushed.

After lunch, Aro left and we cleaned up before I took Isabella back to the apartment.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal dinner."

"I can't wait."

With Isabella safely at home, I took care of a few things before my bachelor party at the bar. I arrived after dinner and was immediately ambushed by my brother and Emmett, who were in charge of this little get together.

We drank and I was forced to listen to their stories as they imparted their advice. I didn't think I needed it, but it didn't stop them. I gritted my teeth and finally reminded them that, as their boss and Aro's second, they shouldn't be disrespecting me. That quieted the room a bit.

I was smashed when we called it a night, grateful that I had my father to drive me home. He'd sat around but hadn't given any pointers, so I was assuming that was what the car ride was for.

"How come you're not telling me how I'm supposed to fuck Isabella?" I slurred.

"First off," my father growled, "don't disrespect Isabella that way. I don't care that you've been drinking. Secondly, I think you know what you're doing, you've just been picky. There's nothing wrong with that. Treat my daughter-in-law well, that's the only advice I have for you."

I sighed. "I need to apologize to her."

"For what you just said? No you don't. She doesn't know, you didn't mean it, and you're drunk. You'll only wake her up and confuse her. You will see her at the rehearsal dinner and then, in a day and a half, she'll be your wife."

"Thank fuck."


	12. Chapter 12

**For those interested in knowing more about my writing process, stories, etc, I'm participating in the Author's 411 Zoom call series on 9/25 at 7pm CT. For a $5 donation to the gofundme for Carey Ann Williams, who has been battling covid-19, you get to join the call and ask questions. More info can be found in my facebook group, AgoodWITCH Writes, or in the Author's 411 facebook group. There are a lot of amazing authors, so check out the schedule and I hope to see you there.**

**I'm a little surprised by the lack of trust in Aro. I know we're trained to be distrusting, but still.**

**The wedding ceremony is a combination of things I've found on various sites for Catholic wedding ceremonies and my own interpretations from attending a few weddings and writing countless more. It was interesting writing two weddings/wedding nights in dramatically different time periods and scenarios.**

**RL has not been nice the last two months, so thank you for your patience as some of these chapters.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 12**

I was fidgeting so bad, I expected my father to stand up from the front row of the church and smack me. It felt like it was taking way too long for the ceremony to get started. I looked to Father Francis, who didn't seem concerned by anything, when the organist began to play.

I turned to see Alice walking down the aisle in a pink, knee-length lace dress. She was smiling bright with her bouquet in hand as she made her way to the spot across from me. I couldn't bother to spare a look back at Jasper to see his reaction, because I was waiting for Isabella to appear.

The music changed and the doors at the back of the church once again opened, this time revealing Isabella on Aro's arm. I knew I was beaming as I took in my beautiful bride.

They made their way to the front of the church and Aro placed Isabella's hand in mine. We turned to Father Francis and let him begin the ceremony.

I watched Isabella through the early portion of the mass, the tears glistening in her eyes and her bright smile filled me with joy. Having a full mass was important to both of us, but it meant it took longer to get to the actual wedding rites.

Once the last reading was completed, Father Francis motioned for all to stand.

"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here in the sight of God and in the presence of your family and community to enter into the sacrament of marriage. The bonds of marriage strengthen our faith and enrich the lives of those who we join together.

"Edward and Isabella, do you both come here today of your own free will to marry? To honor the vows made today and raise any children your union is blessed with in the traditions of our faith?"

"I do," I spoke confidently.

"I do," Isabella answered.

"Join your hands and repeat after me," Father Francis said.

We exchanged our vows and then Father Francis continued.

"May our Lord, who joined our first parents in paradise, in his infinite kindness give strength to the consent declared today and fill your lives with blessings. What God has joined, let no one put asunder. Let us bless the Lord."

"Thanks be to God," the congregation responded.

Our rings were passed to Father Francis, who held them out as he spoke. "Bless and sanctify your servants in their love, and let these rings, a sign of their faithfulness, remind them of their love for one another. Through Christ our Lord."

The rings were sprinkled with holy water and passed to each of us. I slid Isabella's ring onto her finger and repeated the priest's words and then she did the same to me. We were declared man and wife and I was finally able to kiss my bride.

The mass continued, and when the recessional began, I led Isabella out of the church. The Bentley parked out front whisked us towards the hotel holding our reception, and once we were alone, I leaned in to whisper to her.

"Well, Mrs. Masen, it seems I finally have you alone."

"For a little while, at least," she said and blushed.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm wonderful. Although this little one is hungry."

I reached out to rub her belly and the baby pressed against my hand. "We'll be eating soon enough."

The drive passed in quiet conversation, and when we arrived, a hotel employee led us to a small room off the main ballroom we'd rented. It was a place we could wait until our guests had arrived and our band could announce our entrance. Bread and sparkling water was brought to us, and Isabella quickly took a piece and dipped it into the oil and vinegar plate.

We could hear the sounds of our guests, and soon the employee was back to lead us to the door we'd be entering through. With our arms linked, we listened for the band leader's announcement.

"And now, for the first time in public, may we introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Edward Masen."

The doors opened and we walked out to the cheers of the three hundred guests. Before we could make it too far, the crowd parted, leaving us alone on the floor for our first dance.

As the singer crooned, "All the Way", I sang along in Isabella's ear. She smiled and blushed as I focused on her, but soon it was time for us to begin to meet our guests. We walked around the room as I introduced her to various associates and people from the neighborhood. Isabella held the white satin bag selected to hold our gifts, and after each introduction, an envelope was passed to her and she slipped it inside. We made it around to about one-third of the guests before they began to serve the first course, so we sat down to enjoy the meal.

Isabella glowed from within, the joy was so apparent on her face, and as we ate and laughed, I felt my love for her grow. I would do anything for this woman. That much was clear.

During a break in the courses, more introductions were made, and soon we were through the masses and onto our inner circle.

Aro made a big show of welcoming Isabella, but it didn't go unnoticed that Sulpicia continued to show contempt towards her. There was an unspoken conversation between them, before Aro led Isabella out onto the dance floor. I made the same gesture to Sulpicia, and once we were on the floor, I got a little more clarity.

"Edward, you make such a handsome groom. Too bad your choice of bride isn't equal to you."

My jaw tightened, but I tried to keep the anger off my face as everyone was watching. "Isabella is everything I could want in a wife."

"My Jane should have been your choice. She wasted a lot of years waiting for you to smarten up."

"Jane would never have been my wife. So please don't get any ideas there. We were always like oil and water. She always thought she was entitled to things that were never meant for her."

"With who her father is, she deserved the world, not to be shipped to Italy in disgrace."

"Maybe if someone hadn't filled her head with self-important fantasies she would have known her place and found a husband here. As it is, her grandmother found someone who would take on that challenge."

Sulpicia's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared, but she said nothing else. The song ended and she returned to her table.

The dancing continued and I claimed Isabella's hand as often as I was able to, but she was a very popular woman today.

Gina thought my laser focus on her location was comical, while Alice sighed dreamily that her friend was fortunate.

Esme beamed about how beautiful our day was and how proud she was of us.

When it was time for the main course, we once again sat down, and after another round of dancing and visiting with our guests, we cut the cake.

Once dessert was served there were a few associates who approached to discuss things with me, but I held up my hand. Today was not a day I was willing to talk business.

A little more mingling and I was soon escorting Isabella out to our ride.

When we pulled up at our house, the driver reminded Isabella that her suitcase was in the trunk. I stiffened as I hadn't seen or heard of a bag, but Isabella rested her hand on my thigh and thanked the man.

He stepped out to open our door and retrieve the luggage and I turned to her.

"What bag?" I hissed.

"The last of my things from the apartment and everything I used today to get ready. Alice believed that we wouldn't want to be bothered with something like that the next few days, so she gave it to the driver before the ceremony."

"Alice delivered it personally?" I asked.

Isabella looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "Yes, Alice walked it out and then came back into the bride's room to help me with my jewelry. And there was one of your men outside with the driver the whole time."

I sighed in relief that she was aware of these things and knew she needed to be. "Okay, let's get inside."

I escorted her to the front door and took the suitcase from the driver. He doffed his cap at us and offered his congratulations as he made his retreat. I unlocked the door and picked up the bag, sitting it just inside the door and then turned to Isabella.

"Edward, what are you doing?"

"Carrying my wife over the threshold."

I bent down to pick her up before she could protest more than a squeal when I lifted her easily. I stepped through the doorway and placed her back on her feet. She blushed and reached for the suitcase.

"Do you need anything? Something to drink?" I asked.

"No, I'm ready for bed. It has been a long day and I want to relax together. I'll just need some help getting out of this dress."

"I can help with that." I smirked at the idea of getting her out of that lacy dress.

We moved into the bedroom and I unbuttoned the back of her dress before reaching the toggle of the zipper. Pulling it down slowly, I was completely out of my depth. Put a gun in my hand and I was golden, but with her pregnancy I was so worried about hurting her or the baby.

"I'm going to get changed and ready for bed," Isabella whispered and then grabbed a few things from the dresser and vanished into the bathroom.

I took the time Isabella spent getting ready doing the same. I was done well before her, so I turned down the bed and then went out and double checked that the house was locked up and the lights were off. When I returned to the bedroom, she was just exiting the bathroom with a handful of laundry. She quickly moved to the hamper, but didn't turn to face me.

"Isabella, is everything okay?" I asked. When she shook her head, I moved to stand behind her. My hand squeezed her shoulders and then slid down her arms and forward to her stomach. "Talk to me."

"I'm sorry," she whispered and her body shook gently against mine. I turned her to face me and enveloped her in my arms. It took a few minutes for her crying to stop, but once she did, a different floodgate opened. "I … I spent so many days and nights, just thinking about what it would be like to finally be with you. I've wanted you for so long and I couldn't have you then. And now I can, but … I'm so big, and I'm uncomfortable all the time. I can't lie on my back. I can't move gracefully. How am I supposed to make you desire me if I can't even give you a proper wedding night."

I thought about her words and it took a lot not to be upset with myself. I'd been looking forward to this, we'd been teasing each other about it for months, and now she felt bad that she couldn't give it to me.

"Isabella, the baby is due in less than two months. After all this time carrying him or her, I'm sure it is taking its toll on you. In the grand scheme of things, that isn't any time at all. I can be patient, if that's what you need."

"Really?" her tear-stained face popped up to meet mine and I smiled.

"Yes, but I do have one question. Is everything off the table, or just sex?"

"What else is there?" she asked.

I stared at her, shocked by her words. If he wasn't already dead, I would have killed Jimmy for being a damn fool.

"There's plenty, let me show you."

I led her to the bed and motioned for her to get in and get comfortable. Once she had pillows tucked under her and she stopped squirming, I turned off the bedroom light and got in bed behind her. With my chest pressed against her back, my hand glided over the silky fabric of her nightgown until I reached her breasts. She gasped as I massaged her, my left arm snaking under her head and around to her chest so it could continue to tease her as my right hand moved farther south.

Her sighs and moans got louder as I began to pull up the fabric until I came in contact with the skin of her thigh. My body involuntarily rocked against her as I inched closer to her panties. The fabric sat low on her pubic bone, so as I slid my fingers underneath I soon felt the soft curls that hid the promised land.

My movements were deliberate and it helped that Isabella was pinned between me and the pillow in front of her because it meant I controlled the pace. She whined slightly and I decided to play nice.

Isabella gasped again when I found the small nub that would help me bring her to climax. Judging by her reactions, I was doing everything right, and when I moved farther down, I was rewarded with how wet she was for me.

"Tell me if this is too much and I'll stop," I groaned. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I will," she whispered, her voice breathy.

I sank first one and then another finger inside her, working them slowly and listening to her for my cues. She was clearly enjoying it, and as I rocked against her tight little ass, I could feel myself start to build towards my own orgasm.

The keening sound came unexpectedly as she clamped down on my fingers, and after a few more thrusts of my own, I came in my pajama pants. I should have tried to hold off until I could get into the bathroom, but I wanted my wife to know she could get me off.

We both had some cleaning up to do, but it wasn't long before we were back in bed and I was once again wrapped around her.

"Sleep well, my love."

"You too, husband."

After that first night, it was like Isabella and I fell into our roles seamlessly. I thought it would be different to have her around, or for her to be at my house as opposed to the apartment with Alice. But it wasn't a problem at all. Isabella kept the house up, and Gina, Alice, and Esme were over nearly every day. She couldn't drive her car, so it sat in the garage where my father had left it before the wedding. Isabella had told me how she'd been shocked when my father had told her about the gift, but she was getting used to extravagant gifts from the Masen men.

That didn't mean everything was perfect.

A phenomenon Esme called "nesting" meant that I was in trouble every time I left a glass in the living room, or put something away wrong, but I could easily soothe Isabella's ire.

What was hard to calm was her sadness when she had to stop working at the bakery altogether. My mom had stepped in to help Alice, but Isabella cried that she was letting everyone down.

It also didn't help that Aro was in the middle of his three week trip to Italy for Jane's wedding and we were having problems with some of our shipments. I wanted it handled by the time Aro returned home, but after another truck reached us empty, we knew we needed to put our men into place and catch not only who was doing this, but the potential rat in our organization. This was going to be only inside men, my men, working on this and I felt a responsibility to be out there with them. We were down in my basement, making our final plans when Isabella hollered down from the top of the stairs.

"Edward!"

"I'll be up in a couple of minutes," I called back.

"Now, Edward." This time I noticed a panicked tone to her voice.

I turned to my men and ran upstairs to find Isabella leaning heavily against the wall.

"What's wrong?"

"The baby's coming."

My mind went blank as I processed her words. "But you're not due for another few weeks."

"The baby didn't get that memo," she said, her hand going to her stomach as she cried out.

"Okay, the keys are downstairs. Let me just grab them and I'll-" Before I could finish, Jasper was at the top of the stairs.

"Everything okay?"

"The baby's coming," I told him.

"Shit. I'll take care of everything else, you just take care of your wife," he said.

"Thanks, can you throw me my keys?"

"Sure."

His feet thundered down the stairs, and a minute later, I had the keys in hand and was leading Isabella towards the front door.

"I didn't even pack a bag," she cried.

"My mom will come get you whatever you need. Let's just get you to the hospital."

I got her safely to the car and helped her in before running to my side. Once the key was in the ignition I took a deep breath, it was time to meet our baby.


	13. Chapter 13

**If you want to know more about my stories, check out my facebook group, Agoodwitch Writes.**

**This chapter is a little shorter than normal, but we're approaching a time jump in the next chapter, so I just let it come to a natural end. Hope you enjoy mobward and his family time. Thanks to Sunshine1220 and Mizzdee for their work on this story. Did a ton of research on birth and raising newborns in the sixties, so I hope you enjoy the details.**

****Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.****

**Chapter 13**

I drove Isabella to Kings County hospital and led her inside. A nurse rushed over as I helped to keep her upright through another contraction. They whisked Isabella away and pointed me in the direction of the waiting room. Part of me wanted to tell them off, but I also knew I had no business being in that room.

The waiting room wasn't empty when I walked in, but as I sat down I was given a wide berth. I hated not knowing anything. I didn't know what was going on with my men. I didn't know what was going on with my wife. It was not a feeling I was familiar with and that made it worse.

A doctor walked out and approached a man seated on the other end of the room. They spoke briefly and then they left together.

Time continued to pass, the hands of the clock mocking me as I was given no information.

One by one, the other men were led out while I remained there. As the last man was escorted out, the door to my left opened and my father walked in.

"Jasper told me Isabella went into labor. How are things going?"

"I don't know, they haven't said anything."

"Well, no news is good news in this case," my dad said.

"So, Jasper and the guys made it back?"

"Yeah, whoever was in charge of the shipments realized the pattern, so they started moving the shipment dates and departure times."

"So, no competition edging in on our territory?"

"No, and our connection was taken off the route. He'd informed Vito Jr., but apparently he didn't pass that along."

"Emmett's cousin didn't think we'd need to know this? We could have had our guys pinched if they'd gone to the cops." I hissed.

My hands found my hair and I gave it a tug. Everything was out of my control.

"Edward, this is the nature of what we do. They caught wind of it, so we lay off their shipments. Something else will fill it in. Vito Jr. should have known we were skimming too often. This isn't his first rodeo."

"Well, I'll pay him a visit to remind him that he needs to be smarter about what he's overseeing."

"We can handle that for you-"

"No. If I send Emmett then it looks like I'm going easy on him. He won't respect Jasper because he's newly made, and if you or Aro go then it means I can't handle my own business. Once I know Isabella and the baby are okay, I'll do it."

My father shook his head. "What you need to focus on is Isabella. You brought her in around seven, right? So she's been in there for ten hours."

My head shot up and I looked at the clock. "I thought it had only been my imagination that it felt like forever. What if something is wrong? They wouldn't tell me. They have no reason to tell me anything."

My father's hand found my shoulder. "Edward, I've sat in a room like this through two births. Babies take a long time to be born. Especially the first born. This is just the beginning, I'm afraid."

Time passed in odd intervals after that conversation. An hour would drag by and then the next two would go in what felt like minutes. My father sat beside me the entire time. Esme came by with a suitcase for Isabella's hospital stay and sandwiches. I wasn't planning to eat it, but Esme stood in front of me tapping her foot on the ground with narrowed eyes. I begrudgingly ate what she'd brought to appease her, but as soon as I was done, a nurse walked through the door. "Mr. Masen?"

"Yes?" I stood up.

"Mrs. Masen has been taken to the delivery room. A doctor will be out to speak to you once the birth is over."

"Thank you," I croaked. She nodded and made her way back towards the doors that led to the maternity ward.

It was another ninety-four minutes before a doctor walked through those doors. A chair moving across the room drew my attention to the fact that there were other people in the waiting room again. I didn't remember anyone else coming in.

"Mr. Masen?" An older man called.

I once again flew out of my seat at the sound of my name. "How's my wife?"

"Relax, Mr. Masen. I'm Dr. Woods. Your wife is being moved to a private room per your arrangements. It was a long labor, but she and your daughter are both doing well."

"It's a girl?" A wave of relief rushed through me. I would have loved a boy, but this eliminated the worry of alienating him when he realized there would be limits to him joining the family business.

"Can I see them?" I asked. He said they were fine, but I wouldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.

"You can go by the nursery and see your daughter, but by the time your wife is settled it will be past visiting hours. You can see her in the morning. She's in room 332."

The doctor led us through the doors and to the nursery where I searched the pink bundles until I saw the card that read _Baby Masen._

She was tiny and red faced, but there was no denying that she was beautiful. Just like her mother.

"Edward," Esme said. "I'm going to the third floor to leave Isabella's bag at the nurse's station until she's moved to her room."

"Thanks, Ma."

I walked out to where I'd parked last night, ready to deal with Vito Jr. It wasn't a long drive to his house, but when I pulled up, the curtain moved slightly.

I was barely out of the car when the front door opened and Dora was waiting with her arms wide open. "Edward, I hear you're a father, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Dora. Is Vito here? I need to talk to him."

"He's down in the den. Have you eaten? The dog food they serve at the hospital couldn't have been filling."

"Thank you, Dora, but Esme brought food for my father and me and I've got leftovers at the house. I won't be here too long."

I walked down the hall and descended the handful of steps until I was in Vito's den. He was sitting in the recliner, oblivious to my entrance. "You've gotten sloppy, V."

His eyes popped open and he nearly jumped out of the chair. "Edward, what a surprise."

"I'm sure it is. But there's something we need to clear up."

"Jasper said Isabella went into labor, you should be with her and the baby."

"I'm exactly where I need to be right now." I moved closer to him. "As I said, you got sloppy with these shipments, and you didn't tell us when they were getting wise to it. We could have lost good men because of it."

Vito paled, sweat beading on his forehead. "Edward, I'm sorry. I thought it was just shipments getting moved around and that my contact would get back to me, but then he didn't and I didn't know how to come to you."

"You come to me like a man, Vito. You walk into my office and tell me there's a problem and we figure out how to fix it. I'm giving you a break because you've been working for us for a long time, but this isn't the time to fuck up. Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

"I understand, boss. It won't happen again."

"Good to hear. Now, let's have a drink quick to settle this and toast my daughter."

Vito let out a gust of air, his shoulders slumping in relief. He poured us both a healthy glass of whiskey from his liquor cabinet and we toasted to my little girl.

I left after that and drove home, heating up some of Isabella's leftover lasagna and eating before going to bed. Having been up for a day and a half, it didn't take much to fall asleep.

The next morning I was at the hospital for the start of visiting hours and seeing Isabella eased every frazzled nerve I had. She was sitting up in bed, smiling at me as I entered.

"Have you seen her?" she asked.

"Last night, once she was settled. How are you feeling? I'm sure you're still tired."

"I was knocked out for most of it, but I also get tired pretty easily. They should be bringing her in any moment for her breakfast."

"Any ideas on a name?" I asked. We hadn't discussed names much, Isabella had wanted to wait until she met her.

"I have one in mind."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," I told her.

"Antoinette."

Just then the nurse came in with the baby. She wheeled her over to Isabella and she got into position to feed her. The nurse handed her a bottle, and I watched as she fed our daughter. I moved to the head of the bed on the far side to give her space and watch the moment they were sharing. All too soon, Isabella was passing the baby back to the nurse and she was wheeled out. I didn't even get a chance to hold her.

"I think Antoinette is a perfect name for our little princess."

The next four days were all the same. I'd visit Isabella while she was in the hospital, and she got used to taking care of all of Antoinette's needs. I got to hold her a few times, having to fight the nurse to keep her from scurrying off with the baby as soon as she was fed or changed.

Thankfully, Isabella and Antoinette were finally cleared to be released and I made sure we had everything we needed. I'd also made it clear to my family and our friends that I didn't want to be bothered until tomorrow. I didn't want Isabella to be overwhelmed with well-wishers when we were just getting settled.

I carried in the bassinet holding Antoinette and Isabella's suitcase so my wife didn't have anything to worry about. She was still a bit sore, but she promised it wasn't anything too troublesome.

I went to the bedroom and put Antoinette in the crib and watched as she settled into the mattress. When I returned to the living room, Isabella was sitting on the couch.

"Did you have trouble finding the formula?" Isabella asked.

"No, I gave the information to Esme and she found it for me. I think she bought us enough to last us until Christmas."

"That's Esme."

"Do you want me to heat up something for dinner?"

"That sounds nice."

I got to work following Esme's directions for how to reheat one of the dishes she'd prepared for us and then served it to Isabella and me. We'd just finished eating when Antoinette began to cry. Isabella went to get her while I took out the formula and tried to figure out how to mix it. Isabella found me in the kitchen trying to warm the bottle.

"Here, you hold her and I'll finish up."

Isabella held out our girl and I tried my best to cradle her properly. She helped me to adjust a little and then sent me to sit on the couch. Once I was settled, I looked down at our daughter and had to smile at the way she burrowed into my embrace.

"Here's her bottle. Feed her for me while I clean up?"

"I can get that," I told her.

"Spend time with her. She needs to get to know her father."

I took the bottle, held it to her lips and she latched on. Watching her respond tugged at my heart and made me smile. I could see the wisps of dark hair and had a moment of gratitude that she was singularly her mother. Even her eyes were dark.

Antoinette finished the bottle and I tried to adjust her onto my shoulder so I could burp her, but it just wasn't working. She began to fuss and Isabella came back in the room, sitting beside me.

"You can pat her harder," she said as she showed me the right way to do it.

Once Antoinette let out her little burp, she gripped the front of my shirt and fell asleep.

"She's in love already, not that I blame her."

"The feeling is mutual."

The first few days we had family come by to check on us and meet Antoinette properly. Peter in particular was excited to meet his cousin.

Aro got home from Italy and made sure to visit. He wanted details about what he'd missed and then told me that I was off for a few weeks as promised.

That time was precious to me.

We made plans for when we both went back to the real world, with Nonna claiming as much time as she could. It would still be a while before Isabella returned to the bakery, but I promised to take late nights to her early mornings.

Our luck in Antoinette's temperament made it easy in those early weeks as she fell asleep easy and only cried when she needed something. My father claimed that was all Isabella.

"You'd better hope all your children take after their mother, because we were convinced someone had cursed you. Aro even bought a little cornicello necklace for when you were old enough and one hung in your nursery," Dad explained as he held Antoinette.

"She's my little angel, Dad. I would do anything for her. It makes me nervous for next week when Isabella returns to the cafe part time. I tried to convince her that she didn't have to, but she wants out of the house. She even told me it could be her birthday gift, to let her have a little freedom now that our girl is two months old."

"Your mother is excited for Nonna and Toni time, so that makes me happy. You'll learn quick that if it makes Mama happy then it makes your life easier. But try and do something more than that."

"Dinner at home with our daughter and a ruby necklace to represent our little one."

My dad laughed. "You're learning fast."

The months kept moving forward and I was enjoying watching Antoinette become her own person.

There was no denying she had me wrapped around her little finger, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

**Cornicello - a horn shaped amulet worn by Italians to ward off the evil eye.**


End file.
